Cliff Bell’s, downtown Detroit’s beautifully restored Art Deco jazz venue, is hosting a singular music performance this Friday night. The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit presents Cleveland-based singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Baby Dee and local experimental group The Scavenger Quartet, led by Kresge fellow Frank Pahl. It’s sure to be an extraordinary evening.

Baby Dee, who performed an unforgettable show last year at MOCAD, has been a Coney Island sideshow act, a Manhattan street performer and a church organist in the Bronx. She plays the piano, harp, accordion and harmonium, but it’s her husky voice and idiosyncratic, pained delivery that grab you first and don’t let go. Her songs range from delicate instrumentals to mournful nature ballads and rollicking, ribald pieces about her life between genders. She combines Rust Belt grit with wicked humor and unexpected grace, and the result is uniquely beautiful.

She’ll be joined by Pahl, the local mad scientist composer who delighted Art X Detroit audiences with his intricate, self-playing instruments, and his band, The Scavenger Quartet. The group includes Tim Holmes on tenor sax, Joel Peterson on double bass and Doug Gourlay on drums. There’s no telling what, exactly, they’ll have up their sleeves Friday night, but since they’re known to be occasionally outnumbered by Pahl’s automated instruments, it’s bound to get interesting.

The performance is on Friday, May 13 at 9 p.m. at Cliff Bell’s, 2030 Park Ave., Detroit; 313-961-2543; cliffbells.com. Tickets are $6.