Melbourne is set to get a very cool new live music venue, complete with an endorsement from one of New York’s most iconic music spaces. Blue Basement will open at 350 William Street, Melbourne in February 2016.
As Broadsheet reports, Melbourne’s newest jazz venue will open early next year but has already minted an artistic partnership with New York City’s iconic Birdland club, which has seen performances from the likes of Miles Davis and Billie Holiday.
Founded and run by former artistic director of the Melbourne International Jazz Festival Albert Dadon, Blue Basement will serve as Birdland’s sister club and the two venues will exchange artist bookings.
Eschewing Melbourne’s predominantly bar-oriented jazz scene, Blue Basement will offer punters a dinner-and-show format, with a full Italian restaurant and shows happening at 8pm and 10pm nightly.
The 200-seat “amphitheatre-style” venue is part of a William St precinct shaped by Dadon’s real-estate development company, Ubertas Group. The purpose-built basement venue is situated beneath more than 500 apartments and next to a five-star hotel opening in 2018.
“I always knew I was going to do a club there,” Dadon told Broadsheet. “We decided to get the club going now, so by the time the hotel is ready the whole precinct will be completed.”
With Bennetts Lane’s surprise reopening some months back, Melbourne jazz fans will soon be spoilt for choice. However, Dadon promises the music won’t be limited to just jazz, though expect to see plenty of local and international luminaries.
“Jazz is front and centre, but it’s wider than that,” he said, with plans to include Latin music and other styles. “Good music: that’s what I’d like it to be.”
Image: Reduta Jazz Club
