by Charlie WilmothNat Baldwin is a bassist whose improvisations are often based on sounds rather than notes. His free, noisy playing often includes a variety of extended-technique effects -- he'd rather scratch a string than pluck it. Baldwin briefly studied at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, CT, but he soon fell in with a group of Wesleyan University improvisers who studied with Anthony Braxton. All his recording projects through 2002 were collaborations with Wesleyan or Hartt students and alumni, including two eclectic albums by Lavender, an all-strings recording with violinist/violist Jessica Pavone, and a record by bagpiper Matthew Welch. He has also worked in a trio with Jeremy Starpoli and Ben Karetnick and a duo with pianist Dan St. Clair.