Blue Note jazz club to open first UK venue in London — SkimNews
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- Blue Note will open its first UK venue in the basement of St Martins Lane hotel, Covent Garden, on 23 September, featuring a 250-capacity main room staging two shows nightly and a 100-capacity "B-Side" room for emerging British talent due later this year.
- Robert Glasper, the Grammy-winning US pianist, will headline the grand opening, which marks the centenary of saxophonist John Coltrane, with tickets for the first run of shows going on general sale on 14 August.
- Co-owner Tsion Bensusan called the launch a "significant milestone," saying Blue Note London aims to become "a home for musicians, a gathering place for the community and an integral part of London's cultural landscape."
- Performers and residencies will include Erykah Badu, Jamie Cullum, Nubya Garcia, Yussef Dayes, Kokoroko and rapper Hak Baker, with the club also hosting occasional surprise performances.
- Blue Note was founded in Greenwich Village, New York City, in 1981 and has since expanded across the US and into Japan, China, Brazil and Italy, making London its first venue in the UK.
Why it matters: The London venue gives Blue Note its first UK footprint after four decades of international expansion, while the 100-capacity B-Side room creates a dedicated pipeline for emerging British jazz talent in a city with an established but commercially squeezed live-music circuit.
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