Janita Baker has been a performing musician for over 35 years and is best known for her solo performances on the mountain dulcimer. Through her unique style of fingerpicking she presents her audiences with a wide range of musical experiences including classical, traditional, delta and country blues, ragtime, swing and original instrumental pieces. With the release of her first album, Fingerpicking Dulcimer, she introduced the four equidistant string dulcimer with a variety of classical, traditional, ragtime and blues arrangements. Through her recordings, tablature books, and appearances at festivals, camps, and workshops across the United States, Janita has become well-known as both a consummate teacher and performer. Janita’s recording, Solace, featured arrangements of ragtime and blues along with contemporary, classical and original compositions performed on both the standard and the bass dulcimer. Her highly acclaimed solo CD, Blues and Ragtime for Fretted Dulcimer, covers both classical Joplin rags and a variety of ragtime and blues styles including those of Robert Johnson and W. C. Handy. In 2002, Mel Bay Publication released the newly revised edition of Fingerpicking Dulcimer, complete with six new tunes in tablature and music notation and accompanied by the CD, Fingerpicking Dulcimer. Along with her husband Robert, Janita builds Blue Lion dulcimers and guitars. The Bakers have released two recordings: Walkin’ Around Lucky and their latest, The Hot Rod Sleigh, both of which received nominations as Folk Album and Christmas Album of the Year (respectively) from Just Plain Folks, an organization dedicated to independent recording labels.