Ab Baars (born 1955 in Axel) is a Dutch saxophonist, clarinetist and shakuhachi player who has been active in jazz and improvised music since the 1970s. He studied at the Rotterdam Conservatory, later worked with American jazz clarinetist John Carter, and has been a member of the ICP Orchestra since 1986. His own Ab Baars Trio, with bassist Wilbert de Joode and drummer Martin van Duynhoven, dates back to 1990, and he has performed for decades with violist-composer Ig Henneman as Duo Baars-Henneman.
The label Wig Records, which Baars set up together with Ig Henneman in 1988, closed in 2025 after 35 years with a final live recording of the duo during Wels Unlimited.
The final recording of Duo Baars-Henneman, '150 @ Wels Unlimited 2025', was released in February 2026.
Baars performed with clarinet, tenor saxophone and shakuhachi in the quartet Kinda Dukish and Kinda Mengelbergish in Zaal 100 in Amsterdam.
The quartet Perch Hen Brock & Rain, with Baars, Ig Henneman, Ingrid Laubrock and Tom Rainey, performed at Splendor Amsterdam.
Concertzender dedicated an episode to improvisation featuring, among others, Duo Ig Henneman and Ab Baars.
