ON THE EVE OF THE CLUB'S 62ND ANNIVERSARY
IN 1996, CLARENCE BAKER ANNOUNCED HIS RETIREMENT AND SOLD THE
OLD JAZZ CLUB TO EX-BAR OWNER, JUANITA JACKSON, FORMERLY OF JUANITA'S
LOUNGE IN NORTHWEST DETROIT AND HER PARTNER, JOHN COLBERT.
JACKSON AND COLBERT ARE BEGINNING TO BRING BAKER'S BACK FROM
IT'S SLUMP IN THE PAST DECADE. ALONG WITH THEIR ENTHUSIASM, THEY
BRING A NEW FUSION OF ALL MUSICAL STYLES, AND PRIVATE EVENTS,
SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, WITH LIVE ENTERTAINMENT WHILE SERVING LUNCH
AND LATE NIGHT DINNER.
ALMOST EVERYONE WHO HAS RE-VISITED
BAKER'S SAYS "THE CLUB HAS BEEN REVIVED AND OPERATING DELIGHTFULLY
WITH FINE FOOD, LOCAL MUSICIANS, PLAYING NIGHTLY AND ALOT OF
FUN, DURING HAPPY HOUR DAILY".
CLUB HISTORY
It all began in May, 1934, when Chris Baker opened a beer and
sandwich restaurant. His son Clarence Baker began to work for
him at the age of 15. Five years later, Clarence took over the
management of Baker's following his father's stroke in 1939.
Baker's was located at the end of the bus line in a rural neighborhood,
on Livernois at 8 mile, where cornfields were more common than
houses. At that time he nor anyone knew that seven decades later
it would claim to be the longest running jazz club anywhere in
the world.
In the late thirties, Clarence had
installed himself as entertainment director, and began booking
solo pianist into Baker's. Suddenly, there were lines outside
the door. What began as a neighborhood spot serving steaks and
chops, now, was a little jazz club.
The main attraction up until 1954 was
local pianist Pat Flowers, who was so popular that Clarence no
longer served food as the principal means of support, he provided
entertainment nightly. The room was enlarged, and Pat had Clarence
change the name to Baker's Keyboard Lounge. By the fifties Baker
was booking jazz trios and quartets, such as Fats Waller, Meade
Lux, Errol Garner, Art Tatum, Tommy Flanagan, and George Shearing.
During this period, Baker's Keyboard
Lounge had become a main link in the American jazz circuit. As
a result, the respectful and always swinging atmosphere was centered
around the 7-foot Steinway piano that Art Tatum picked out in
New York and had shipped to the club. Next he turned his little
club into an acoustic jewel. He installed Italian tile which
had the highest acoustic rating in the world, the walls were
lined with flannel and artist Harry Carew painted murals around
the walls. In 1957 the club's trademark was the piano shaped
bar with mock piano keys swirling around its edges was installed.
The fifties thru the seventies proved
to be the clubs golden era. Everyone who was anyone in the world
of jazz; the young Dave Brubeck, the man who turned jazz upside
down, John Coltrane; the era's premier pianist, Oscar Peterson.
There was Krupa and Corea, Calloway and Betty Carter. There was
Gerry Mulligan and Sonny Stitt and Kenny Burrell, Barry Harris,
Donald Byrd, Earl Klugh, Pepper Adams. In short we had the finest
musicians in the world.
The names goes on, especially the local
musicians who symbolize the impressive array of extraordinary
musicians who played at Baker's. Equally as exciting as the jam
sessions, have been the unexpected surprises. Like the night
Nat King Cole came to the club and sat in on the piano; or the
time Ella Fitzgerald stopped in to see Tommy Flanagan and stayed
to sing. Or the time when Liberace came in to see the famous
keyboard shaped bar and rushed home to his Beverly Hills Mansion
to install a piano-shaped pool in his back yard.
But nothing lasts forever; Clarence
tried to get out of the business several times from 1973-1996
because of health problems. Then finally in 1996 he sold the
club to John Colbert and Juanita Jackson. The club still maintains
its intimate setting, great acoustic sound, and hipster vibe
that have made it a favorite for jazz aficionados for 72 years.
Baker's still takes an active interest in national and international
artists as well as many Detroiters who make performing at baker's
a rite of passage for eventually moving abroad.
John and Juanita attribute the keys
to their success for continuing the great legacy of jazz at Baker's
to the high performance standard made by the local jazz artists
and the operation of the kitchen once again from an absence of
more than fifty years.
So if you like traditional jazz, great
atmosphere or if you enjoy just stepping into history, Baker's
Keyboard Lounge is an experience you won't want to miss.
