Bars & pubs / Livernois / Avenue of Fashion
Baker's Keyboard Lounge
A historic Detroit jazz club on Livernois Avenue, pairing its performance evenings with soul food and American classics.
01 / The story of this place
Make time for these
Baker's traces its jazz-club history to 1934. Its own history lists past performers including Miles Davis, Billie Holiday and John Coltrane, while a separate event calendar covers the current program.
- Historic jazz venue
- Livernois Avenue
- Soul food and live music
Famous Detroiters
Famous people tied to this place 6
Lexicon entries for the people who lived, worked, performed or liked to spend time here.
- Earl Klugh born 1953 · acoustic guitarist, composer
Favorite haunt
The Livernois Avenue club where teenage Klugh, chaperoned by his mother, met Benson, Corea and Lateef and heard Bill Evans.
- Dennis Coffey born 1940 · guitarist, producer
Performed here
He performed regularly at Detroit's oldest jazz club.
- Robert Hurst born 1964 · jazz bassist, composer, educator
Recorded here
The Livernois Avenue club where Woody Shaw's Bemsha Swing was recorded in 1986 with Hurst, Geri Allen and Roy Brooks.
- Kenny Cox 1940–2008 · jazz pianist, bandleader, label founder
Recorded here
Detroit's oldest jazz club, where Cox played on James Carter's live album recorded in 2001.
- Richard "Pistol" Allen 1932–2002 · drummer
Performed here
He played on saxophonist James Carter's live album recorded at this jazz club, open since 1933.
- Clarence Baker 1910–2003 · jazz club owner
Founded
The 99-seat Livernois Avenue club founded by his parents in 1933 and turned by Clarence into Detroit's oldest continuously operating jazz club; a city historic district since 2016.
Venue photographs show the restaurant, bar, or its offerings; the source appears in the caption. Archival images may show an earlier appearance. Temporary city photographs are labelled separately. Images have been resized and are cropped on cards.
Is this your venue? Update this page for free ↗
Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-25
An independently written bilingual guide. This collection is not an attendance-based ranking.
03 / Events
Events at this place
Published events automatically linked from our event guide. Times are local to the venue.
We have no published upcoming events linked to this place yet. That does not mean the venue has no events; check its official calendar too.
Menu, schedule & more information ↗Your next stop
Back to food & drink ↗
Bars & pubs
Grand Trunk Pub
Grand Trunk Pub preserves the story of a former railway ticket office on Woodward Avenue.
Temporary city photo — not this venue
Bars & pubs
The Sugar House
Sugar House has been making cocktails in Corktown since 2011. Classics and seasonal ideas shape the bar's identity; check its own website for weekend reservation arrangements.