| Blue Note Jazz Club | |
| Address: | 131 W. 3rd Street |
| Location: | New York City, U.S. |
| Coordinates: | 40.7308°N -74.0011°W |
| Type: | jazz club |
The Blue Note Jazz Club is a jazz club and restaurant located at 131 West 3rd Street in Greenwich Village, New York City.[1] The club's performance schedule features shows every evening at 8:00 pm and 10:30 pm and a Sunday jazz brunch. The club has locations across the globe in New York, NY; Waikiki, Hawaii; Napa, CA; Tokyo, Japan; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; São Paulo, Brazil; Milan, Italy; Beijing and Shanghai, China.
The club was opened on September 30, 1981, by owner and founder Danny Bensusan, with the Nat Adderley Quintet being the featured performers for the night. Bensusan's belief was "that if he brought big acts into a comfortable environment with great food, he could pack the house night after night."[2] The Blue Note was soon established as New York City's premier jazz club, with Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae, Lionel Hampton, Oscar Peterson and the Modern Jazz Quartet among prestigious regular performers there.[3] Bensusan booked Ray Charles for a full week every year. The Blue Note is still considered one of the world's most famous jazz venues and one of the best known and most expensive in New York.[4] Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie, and James Carter have all recorded live albums at the Blue Note.[5]
Half Note Records is the Blue Note's live record label, founded in 2001.[6] Numerous musicians have recorded live albums at the Blue Note and released them on this label, including James Carter, Avishai Cohen, Elvin Jones, Odean Pope, Charles Tolliver, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Kenny Werner, Arturo Sandoval, Kenny Garrett and others. Since its founding in 1998, the label has also expanded its scope to include studio releases, including McCoy Tyner's 2008 album Guitars and Kenny Werner's 2010 release, No Beginning, No End.
Blue Note Entertainment Group hosted the inaugural Blue Note Jazz Festival in New York City in June 2011, with more than 80 performances in 15 venues throughout New York City. The annual, month-long event features artists who have been integral to the club's history, including Chris Botti,[7] Dave Brubeck, McCoy Tyner, Nancy Wilson, and many others.
In 2023, the festival featured iconic headliners such as Grace Jones, NxWorries, Robert Glasper, Pat Metheny, Buddy Guy, Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers, Chucho Valdés & Paquito D’Rivera & more!
Boasting an impressive lineup of cultural influencers, Blue Note Jazz Festival expanded to Napa Valley in 2022. The festival lineup in 2023 is in tune to celebrate the influence of jazz on hip-hop for the past 50 years. True to the Blue Note's brand essence, the festival offers an intimate setting for guests to have an up-close and personal experience with the artists whether on stage or during one of the many activities.