Comeback Inn’s Problems

I read with sadness Zan Stewart’s March 29 report about the problems the Comeback Inn has had with its neighbor. A great community resource is in danger of closing because one person is being inconvenienced by what he considers excessively loud music.

As well stated by Stewart, many name jazz artists have been featured at the Venice club, and many performers have gotten their starts there. It has been a laboratory for free experimentation in music. Institutions such as the Comeback Inn are among the few places where the creative art form known as jazz can be practiced; there is unfortunately little commercial market.

Because smoking and hard liquor are not permitted, the Comeback Inn is the type of place we would like to see our teen-agers attend.

Rather than being closed by a court order, the Comeback Inn should be acknowledged as a community resource, and perhaps some private or public funds could be raised to appeal the restraining order against the music or to make the necessary sound-insulating modifications.

DR. LESLIE M. EBER, Los Angeles

The Comeback Inn closed March 31. Owner Will Raabe cited “economic pressure” and problems in lease negotiations and said the club is now for sale.