Jakarta will have Blue Note jazz club
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)