Seattle Times/Arts & Entertainment : Friday, May 26, 2000
Jazz, Etc.: This house of jazz is like a private party

by Paul de Barros
Seattle Times jazz critic

How many times have you thought about going out to a club to hear a jazz group, then said, "I wish I could hear great jazz in my own living room!"

That's what Craig Baker, a semi-retired mechanical engineer on the Eastside, thought, too. Except he did something about it.

For the past year, Baker has been operating the first floor of his modern, suburban house in Redmond as a private jazz club. (He lives upstairs.) Called Bake's Place, this elegant, 2,000-square-foot establishment seats about 50 and is located on top of a hill in a stand of evergreens. 

In the main room, outfitted with theater-quality track lighting and a baby grand piano, there are cocktail tables, a couch and a high counter with cocktail stools. An adjoining room offers more seating; another, at the back, refreshments. In the summer, Baker puts on barbecue/concerts on his patio, adjacent to a landscaped garden with a waterfall.

"I started this place because I got so frustrated with the way jazz is usually presented," says Baker, 53, an amateur singer who's only been a serious jazz fan, he says, for about four years. "With the exception of Jazz Alley, where can you hear jazz and really enjoy the environment?"

In Seattle, there is another venue with a similar premise, called Our House, but Bake's Place is decidedly more upscale. Baker compares it to The Ruins, a private dining club.

The word seems to be getting out. So far, Baker has had strong turnouts for a variety of regional and touring artists, including Don Lanphere, George Cables, Steve Griggs and Greta Matassa. This Saturday and Sunday, at 8:30 p.m., the great pianist Jessica Williams plays solo.

On a recent night when the Don Lanphere trio performed, the place was packed. Though the audience was a mite reverent, it was quite a pleasure to sit with a group of aficionados in a smoke-free living room, sip a glass of (good) house red and hear every note that was played. Even better, between sets, Bake's Place became a private party, with audience and musicians mingling like old friends.

Unsurprisingly, such intimacy doesn't come cheap. The Williams show is $30. Other concerts range from $15 to $165 for an upcoming dinner show with vocalist Freddy Cole. Patrons also must pay a $50 membership fee. But for what amounts to a private recital, you get your money's worth.

The atmosphere seems to draw something special out of the performers. "Jessica just fills the room when she plays here," says Baker. "We want to be the country club of jazz."

Acts coming up include Jovino Santos Neto, Mimi Fox, Mike Longo, Darrell Grant and Janis Mann. For more information, check the Web site: http://www.bakesplace.org, or call Real Time Productions: 425-898-0311.