Jakarta will have Blue Note jazz club

JAKARTA (JP): Blue Note, a New York-based international jazz club and restaurant, will have its first club in Southeast Asia when it opens its fifth club in Jakarta on Aug. 29.

The club, to be located at the Atria Square building in Central Jakarta, will be represented here by PT Bahana Sentosa Perdana who acquired the franchise from Blue Note Inc. PT Bahana currently is managing two other restaurants in Jakarta: Dynasty and Susshi Ippachi.

Founded in 1981 in New York, Blue Note has opened branches in Tokyo, Fukuoka and Osaka, all in Japan. Its Jakarta's branch will have a capacity of 350 seats and be open to members and non- members.

Pandit Sumawinata, the public relations and marketing manager of Blue Note Jakarta, told a press conference yesterday that individual and corporate members will get more advantages than non-members, such as discounts for food and beverages and the possibility of free entrance for Blue Note's concerts.

"Individual members will be asked to pay an annual fee of around US$2,500 per person, while non-member visitors don't have to pay membership fees but they will be charged a cover charge," Pandit said, declining to mention the annual fee for corporate members.

The membership is aimed to create regular patrons.

Pandit said the Blue Note's grand opening from Aug. 29 to Sept. 3 will present well-known American jazz singer Michael Franks with an entrance fee of Rp 250,000 per person ($115.26), which includes a gala dinner,

Blue Note's general manager, J.R. Arief, who is optimistic that a jazz-oriented club and restaurant still has a market in Jakarta despite the existence of several other jazz clubs, said that the club will present foreign entertainers only during the first twelve days of each month, while another twelve days will have domestic acts. On Sundays the club stages special events, including jazz workshops or member gatherings.

"Blue Note Jakarta will be a bit different from other Blue Note branches. The comparison between the performance of domestic and foreign musicians will be 25:75," he said, adding one of Blue Note Jakarta's objectives is to introduce potential Indonesian jazz musicians to the world.

Among Blue Note's coming events to be presented are foreign entertainers such as Lou Rawls, Sadao Watanabe, Astrud Gilberto, Phil Perry, Chick Corea, Tania Maria and local entertainers and jazz groups, including jazz musicians Luluk Purwanto and Rene, Bill Saragih trio and Java Jazz and Krakatau jazz group. (als)