RECORD industry exec Jon Baker knows a thing or two about great bands, having seen the music industry from multiple perspectives over the last three decades: stylist, promoter, producer, booking agent, A&R man and record label exec.

From punk and new wave to hip-hop and urban soul, Baker was a force behind the success of such legendary acts as PM Dawn (Die Without You) Queen Latifah and Chaka Demus and Pliers.

Baker’s knowledge and experience will be put to the test when he joins the judging panel for the renewal of the Global Battle of the Bands 2010 set for Saturday, December 11 at Red Bones the Blues Café.

Baker will share judging duties with noted producers and instrumentalists Ibo Cooper, Ray Hitchins and Mikey Bennett, each of whom has their own extensive musical resume.

When the music industry began to substantially shift in late 1999, Baker sold his shares in Gee Street. In 2002 he moved to Jamaica, became a Jamaican citizen and devoted his energy to developing Geejam, a residential recording studio and insider escape, that he had built in the late 1990s

In 2008, Baker and his business partner Steve Beaver, refocused and opened Geejam as a unique, private luxury hotel catering to artistes and people with affinities towards the creative arts. The list of stars who have worked at Geejam includes rapper Drake, rockers No Doubt and Gorillaz, neo-soulstress India.Arie, Afro-world music ambassadors Les Nubians, Wyclef Jean, Bjork, Amy Winehouse and the current mento kings — The Jolly Boys.

The recording studio he has built is world class while the property itself strikes a stylish balance between modern technological convenience and organic Jamaican sensibility.

More recently, Baker has rebuilt Geejam as a lifestyle brand for the creative industries, particularly music, fashion and film. It now consists of a hotel as well as media, music and film divisions.