[Dixielandjazz] Clarence Baker Obit.

[Rob McCallum]

Another sad day.

Rob



> The following article has been sent to you from the Detroit Free Press
(www.freep.com):
>
> Published September  29, 2003
> http://www.freep.com/news/obituaries/bak29_20030929.htm
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> Clarence Baker: Beloved longtime owner of Keyboard Lounge
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> BY MARK STRYKER
> FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
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> Every time Clarence Baker tried to get out of the jazz business, the music
lured him home with the siren song of a lover. Baker bought and sold Baker's
Keyboard Lounge, the legendary club at Livernois and 8 Mile, so many times
that the plot takes on the complexity of a Russian novel.
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> But it all comes down to this: Jazz in Detroit never had a better friend
or more passionate advocate than Baker, who died Sunday at Beaumont Hospital
in Royal Oak. He was 93.
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> "Something was missing from my life, and it was this place," he told the
Free Press in 1994, after buying back the club yet again. "I devoted over 50
years to the jazz field, and it meant something to me. It's hard to define."
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> Baker, whose gentle soul and quiet manner belied the fury of his
commitment to jazz, turned the cozy restaurant that he inherited from his
father into one of the major jazz clubs in America. Baker's, which still
showcases jazz, turns 70 in 2004 and has a legitimate claim as oldest jazz
club in the world.
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> The famous musicians who worked at Baker's during its glory days from the
1950s through the 1970s included John Coltrane, Oscar Peterson, Dave
Brubeck, Bill Evans, Cannonball Adderley, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, Max
Roach, Kenny Burrell and Stan Getz. Baker also booked the best Detroiters,
and a first gig at Baker's was a rite of passage for several generations of
Detroit musicians.
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> The club's intimacy (it seats about 100), acoustics, talent roster,
noirish decor and hipster vibe made it a favorite of aficionados. But it was
Baker who was ultimately responsible for the club's magical atmosphere of
after-hours cool melded with familial warmth. Rarely are jazz club owners so
beloved.
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> "Clarence really understood the music," says veteran Detroit saxophonist
Larry Nozero. "He understood the struggle us artists go through to exist,
and he provided so many opportunities for so many people. He was always
congenial. He was a true gentleman."
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> Baker loved the club so much that even when financial headaches or health
problems forced him out of the business, he always hedged his bet. John
Colbert, who bought the club in 1996, says that the five or so previous
times Baker sold the club, he retained control of the real estate, selling
only the management side of the business and arranging lease agreements.
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> Each time a new owner ran into trouble, Baker returned to save the club.
He finally sold the entire package, real estate and all, to Colbert, but
only after he was convinced that the club would remain viable and devoted to
jazz.
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> Clarence Baker was born on Feb. 22, 1910, in Jackson, Tenn. His father,
Chris, opened Baker's as a restaurant in 1934. Baker convinced his father to
add a piano as a way to boost business in the evenings.
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> "I bought it for about $35," Baker told the Free Press in 1988. "Then we
hired a local pianist, and people would feed the kitty. They'd put money in
there, and we'd get about $5 or $10 a night. It caught on, and the place got
very busy."
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> Baker took over running the club in 1939 when his father became ill.
Author Lars Bjorn writes in "Before Motown," a history of Detroit jazz, that
the main attraction in 1940-54 was Detroit pianist Pat Flowers. Eventually,
Baker stopped serving food and broadened the menu of music. (Colbert has
reopened the kitchen with a soul-food menu.)
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> The club's current art deco look dates to a 1952 remodeling. The great
jazz pianist Art Tatum helped pick out the club's first grand piano in the
mid-'50s. Modern jazz became a fixture at Baker's in the late 1950s, and in
1957, Baker installed the club's trademark curved bar decorated as a
keyboard.
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> The club became a fixture on the national scene, with top talent booked by
the week. Business began to sour in the late '70s, when the decline of the
city and rising costs made it increasingly difficult to turn a profit.
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> Baker sold the club in 1963 and opened a supper club, the Act IV, near the
Fisher Theatre. After Act IV folded in 1969, Baker did stints as the manager
of several nightspots, including the London Chop House, before regaining
complete ownership of Baker's in 1974. Baker tried to retire several times
in the 1980s and '90s but always ended up retaking control of the club.
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> Baker is survived by his wife, Kay. Services are pending at Wm. R.
Hamilton Co. of Birmingham. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests
donations be made to American Cancer Society. To donate, call 800-227-2345.
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> In recent years, Baker would stop by the club that still bears his name
for special occasions. And each time, he would always tell Colbert the same
thing: "Not a day goes by that I don't pray for you to succeed and for the
club to be a success."
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> Copyright © 2003 Detroit Free Press Inc.
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