I N - T H I S - I S S U E :

Baker's Seventieth Birthday Celebrations

BY LARS BJORN AND PIOTR MICHALOWSKI

The celebration of Baker's 70th year in business on May 1-4 filled the house, and we were lucky to be able to attend the first three days.

Each night featured Detroiters who have become internationally well-known, backed by contemporary Detroiters. There was also a series of awards handed out each night. This kept Jim Gallert and Renee King-Jackson very busy as MCs for the event. On the first night, co-owner John Colbert received SEMJA's first Jazz History award for his efforts to keep the music going at Baker's. Colbert took over the club in 1996 from Clarence Baker (son of the original owner) with Juanita Jackson, who runs the culinary aspects of the club. All other awards were given by Baker's to all visiting musicians and a number of veterans on the Detroit scene: Alma Smith, Will Austin, Bert Myrick, Johnny Allen, Charles Boles, Teddy Harris Sr., Alvin Jackson, Ray McKinney, and James "Beans" Richardson.

Sheila Jordan graced the stage on Saturday night in an all-too-infrequent return to her hometown. She is a marvelous performer who connects immediately with her audience thanks to her sincerity, musicality, and wit. When she announced that she wanted to dedicate a song to our current occupant of the White House, the audience at first gasped, but soon chimed in as it became clear she wanted to put him "On A Slow Boat To China." Her unique take on the standard repertoire makes her one of our favorite jazz vocalists around. Gallert's introduction of Jordan as someone who does "bebop and beyond" was to the point. She sang several songs from her recent Little Song CD (High Note): Kenny Dorham's "Fairweather," "Hello Young Lovers," and "The Touch of Your Lips." For "I Got Rhythm"/"Anthropology," she brought her former Detroit scat partner, Leroy Mitchell to the stage. Jordan is indeed a master of scat and she showed it off particularly well on "Everything Happens To Me." She was very ably backed by a trio she only "met an hour ago:" Tad Weed on piano, Marion Hayden on bass, and Spider Webb on drums.

Sunday afternoon kicked off with a number of proclamations to Baker's by various government officials, including Rep. John Conyers. Kay Baker, Clarence's widow, was the first of many awardees. Gallert presented a historical sketch of artists who have played Baker's over the years with the help of pianists Boles (in a tribute to Pat Flowers) and Smith (in a tribute to Terry Pollard).Donald Byrd started his set with a playful version of "What A Wonderful World" toasting Detroit, Cass Tech, and Baker's. In between tunes he also elaborated on the notion that jazz is democracy-in-action, and on various aspects of growing up in Detroit. He proclaimed Detroit the epicenter of modern jazz, rivaled only by Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. For most of the set Byrd stuck to the muted trumpet, nicely backed by Harris (piano), Don Mayberry (bass) and Louis Hayes (drums). When tenorist Allen Barnes came on stage the pace quickened with the assistance of Hayes' expert handling of the drum sticks. The band (with Austin on bass) had a better chance to stretch out for two sets on Sunday evening.

from top:

Kay Baker receiving award from Juanita Jackson and John Colbert, the new owners of Baker's Keyboard Lounge

Sheila Jordan and Leroy Mitchell

Donald Byrd; Louis Hayes

Charles McPherson; Don Mayberry

photographs by Lars Bjorn

Byrd returned Monday night to sit in with alto master Charles McPherson. McPherson's opening number, "Blue Monk," was a model of how to play the blues on the alto. He is still at the top of his game and an inspiration to musicians and audiences alike. "Old Folks" was another memorable number in the first set. Weed took the first solo on "A Night In Tunisia" and showed off his solid swing and powerful chord playing. Don Mayberry and drummer Myrick rounded out a sympathetic rhythm section.

Unfortunately, we were unable to attend Tuesday night's concerts, but the rumor is that trombonist Curtis Fuller was hot.

I N - T H I S - I S S U E :
1. BAKER'S 70TH BIRTHDAY---2. FLATLANDS COLLECTIVE
3. SOAVE AND NOZERO DO PIAZZOLA---4. ELVIN JONES
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