Jazz lovers: Here is a business that DESERVES a bailout!

[LuckyTheDog]

A great institution in the history of American jazz is on the brink of closing. If you are a wealthy patron of the arts, please take note!

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090318/ENT04/903180307&s=d&page=#pluckcomments

Baker's Keyboard Lounge, the legendary Detroit jazz club at Livernois and 8 Mile, might be taking its final chorus.

Owner John Colbert said on Tuesday that without a significant uptick in business, he has only enough money and wherewithal to keep the club afloat for about two months. His major goal is to keep the doors open through the club's 75th anniversary in early May.

Business is off 35% to 40% in the last nine months, Colbert said, and a combination of factors -- the recession, road construction on Livernois, parking issues and a dramatic hike in the club's water bill -- have conspired to bring Baker's to the brink of extinction.