Danny Bensusan opened the Blue Note in Greenwich Village in 1981 and helped it quickly became home to some of the biggest names in jazz. Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, Oscar Peterson and Lionel Hampton are just some of the iconic acts who played there, and Chick Corea, Peterson, Keith Jarrett and James Carter recorded live records there.
Now, 44 years later, Danny’s son Steven is bringing the Blue Note to Hollywood. The venue, which has locations in Waikiki, Milan, Napa, Tokyo and more, will finally open its doors Thursday, with Blue Note staple and ambassador Robert Glasper doing two sets each Thursday and Friday.
“It’s an important market for us,” Steven Bensusan tells The Times. “A lot of the industry is based there. It’s a major city and we want to establish ourselves there as the West Coast hub.”
Like everything in L.A. this chaotic year, the club’s journey has been tumultuous. Originally scheduled to open in late March, the Blue Note’s premiere was delayed because of construction delays following the wildfires in January.
“We were very sensitive to the situation,” Bensusan says. “We also didn’t want to rush at that point, as well. So, it was delayed — construction delays, permitting delays, everything like that. But we didn’t want to rush to get it open.”
The original March 26 date was so locked in that the club’s director of programming and talent buyer, Alex Kurland, had booked almost the whole year out from that date. So, when everything was pushed back by more than four months, Kurland had to rebook the entire schedule.
“It’s a balance and it’s a puzzle. It’s a combination of rebooking, reorganizing when acts are available and what makes sense for acts, Kurland says. “There isn’t one situation or scenario that results from how everything unfolds. Some acts we definitely did lose for sure because they needed to play their market play or they just couldn’t make it to the West Coast. Luckily, everyone was very understanding and accommodating.”
The one thing they did know was that whenever the venue was ready for opening night, the headliner would be longtime Blue Note favorite Robert Glasper.
“We were not going to open the club without Glasper being the opening talent. We have a very deep relationship and alignment with him, and he wanted to open it,” Kurland says. “It’s a partnership and we’re all in it together.”
Glasper has become synonymous with Blue Note through his annual October residency in New York City, known as “Robtober,” and curating the Blue Note Jazz Festival Napa at the end of August.
While Glasper takes over the New York City location once a year, everyone involved is adamant that the Blue Note Los Angeles will very much reflect L.A. in every way and be a completely distinct entity.
“L.A. culture itself, the artists that are from L.A. and represent L.A. and the soul of L.A., but that’s going to change the vibe of the Blue Note anyway, because we’re definitely going to incorporate a lot of that,” Glasper, the cultural ambassador and a partner in the L.A. location, says. “We want L.A. to feel like it’s L.A.’s Blue Note, not like Blue Note New York moved to L.A. We’re trying to give L.A. its own voice through the Blue Note.”
According to Kurland, that plan is already in effect and will continue to very much be reflected in the booking.
“There are acts that are within the lineup that have not played at a Blue Note previously, and that’s really important that we’re engaging talent and artists that are having their debut moments within a Blue Note just because L.A. is going to be a very fresh and progressive approach to booking and programming,” he says. “So not just booking acts that we have pre-existing history with but really focusing on talent that we are building new relationships with and talent that are having their initial new experiences in the Blue Note, maybe acts that you typically see playing in much bigger venues, acts like Charlie Puth, acts like Ben Folds.”
A huge part of the Blue Note aesthetic is making unique moments through unique collaborations or unannounced guests, like Stevie Wonder or John Mayer jumping onstage after sitting in the audience.
Both Glasper and Kurland are advocating heavily for and expect a lot of those moments with L.A. musicians.
“Collaboration is a huge goal every single day always from a programming standpoint and thinking about the booking more as moments rather than just the transaction of filling dates on the calendar,” Kurland says. “Really being particular about how to maximize really special bookings that that are not just on tour and not just available, but that are curated and programmed.”
Glasper has his dream jam. “I would love for Stevie Wonder to come in there and just do music he wants to do that’s not even his. Everybody gets to see Stevie do Stevie, but I know Stevie would love to just do music he appreciates including jazz music, he can go in there and just do a piano trio night. That’s my number one in my mind. Number two is having Stevie join Herbie [Hancock] together.”
Bensusan points out the L.A. menu will also differ, with many more vegan options than the New York location, and distinctly L.A. options such as Peruvian scallops and a crispy rice tuna taco.
However, the greatest difference, Bensusan points out, is the L.A. location will be the first with two rooms, an A-room for the headliners, and a B-room for developing artists and surprise jams, podcasts, whatever.
“I’m also looking forward to really opening our first club with that second room that we’re calling the B side, which we’ll be able to experiment with and book younger artists that maybe can’t draw in the bigger room and then help develop them so that they can, and giving them the exposure within our marketing and our advertising efforts and help give them more gigs,” Bensusan says.
“That room will serve multiple purposes. Yes, it will be an opportunity to put on and place developing acts that are not big enough necessarily to play the Blue Note, but that can grow to play the Blue Note, or acts that are engaging in underplays,” Kurland adds. “Also thinking about programming that room next to the Blue Note, and maybe there’s a holistic connection between the act playing in the Blue Note. For example, maybe Robert’s playing in the Blue Note room, and Battlecat is DJing in the B side. We’re thinking intentionally about how to elevate the vibe and elevate the curating. It’s connected.”
For Glasper, having the two rooms is key for his goal as cultural ambassador — making the Blue Note the spot in L.A. for musicians.
“L.A. is a big a— ocean of talent and legends. It just started lacking a place for everybody to let their creativity out. And I want Blue Note to be that place,” he says. “I want to start a jam session for a certain night there. So, everybody knows nightly you can go here because they used to have that in L.A. You knew on Tuesday night, you can go to this place or Monday nights you go to that place for jamming, It’s going to be an opportunity for so many people, to have a place to be and enjoy all the things.”
As much as Bensusan, Glasper and Kurland agree on Blue Note L.A. being a multi-faceted facility, Bensusan’s ultimate goal at the end of the day is no different than his dad’s 44 years ago in New York. “We want to create the mecca for jazz in L.A.,” he says proudly.
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