Danny Bensusan opened the Blue Word in Greenwich Village in 1981 and helped it rapidly turned house to a number of the largest names in jazz. Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, Oscar Peterson and Lionel Hampton are simply a number of the iconic acts who performed there, and Chick Corea, Peterson, Keith Jarrett and James Carter recorded reside data there.
Now, 44 years later, Danny’s son Steven is bringing the Blue Word to Hollywood. The venue, which has areas in Waikiki, Milan, Napa, Tokyo and extra, will lastly open its doorways Thursday, with Blue Word staple and ambassador Robert Glasper doing two units every Thursday and Friday.
“It’s an vital marketplace for us,” Steven Bensusan tells The Occasions. “Quite a lot of the trade relies there. It’s a significant metropolis and we wish to set up ourselves there because the West Coast hub.”
Like all the pieces in L.A. this chaotic yr, the membership’s journey has been tumultuous. Initially scheduled to open in late March, the Blue Word’s premiere was delayed due to building delays following the wildfires in January.
“We have been very delicate to the state of affairs,” Bensusan says. “We additionally didn’t wish to rush at that time, as properly. So, it was delayed — building delays, allowing delays, all the pieces like that. However we didn’t wish to rush to get it open.”
The unique March 26 date was so locked in that the membership’s director of programming and expertise purchaser, Alex Kurland, had booked nearly the entire yr out from that date. So, when all the pieces was pushed again by greater than 4 months, Kurland needed to rebook your entire schedule.
“It’s a stability and it’s a puzzle. It’s a mix of rebooking, reorganizing when acts can be found and what is smart for acts, Kurland says. “There isn’t one state of affairs or state of affairs that outcomes from how all the pieces unfolds. Some acts we undoubtedly did lose for certain as a result of they wanted to play their market play or they simply couldn’t make it to the West Coast. Fortunately, everybody was very understanding and accommodating.”
The one factor they did know was that each time the venue was prepared for opening evening, the headliner can be longtime Blue Word favourite Robert Glasper.
Grammy-winning jazz pianist and composer Robert Glasper would be the first act to carry out on the Blue Word L.A.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Occasions)
“We weren’t going to open the membership with out Glasper being the opening expertise. Now we have a really deep relationship and alignment with him, and he needed to open it,” Kurland says. “It’s a partnership and we’re all in it collectively.”
Glasper has turn into synonymous with Blue Word by his annual October residency in New York Metropolis, generally known as “Robtober,” and curating the Blue Word Jazz Competition Napa on the finish of August.
Whereas Glasper takes over the New York Metropolis location yearly, everybody concerned is adamant that the Blue Word Los Angeles will very a lot mirror L.A. in each means and be a totally distinct entity.
“L.A. tradition itself, the artists which might be from L.A. and symbolize L.A. and the soul of L.A., however that’s going to vary the vibe of the Blue Word anyway, as a result of we’re undoubtedly going to include a variety of that,” Glasper, the cultural ambassador and a accomplice within the L.A. location, says. “We wish L.A. to really feel prefer it’s L.A.’s Blue Word, not like Blue Word New York moved to L.A. We’re making an attempt to provide L.A. its personal voice by the Blue Word.”
In keeping with Kurland, that plan is already in impact and can proceed to very a lot be mirrored within the reserving.
“There are acts which might be throughout the lineup that haven’t performed at a Blue Word beforehand, and that’s actually vital that we’re partaking expertise and artists which might be having their debut moments inside a Blue Word simply because L.A. goes to be a really contemporary and progressive method to reserving and programming,” he says. “So not simply reserving acts that we’ve got pre-existing historical past with however actually specializing in expertise that we’re constructing new relationships with and expertise which might be having their preliminary new experiences within the Blue Word, possibly acts that you just usually see enjoying in a lot greater venues, acts like Charlie Puth, acts like Ben Folds.”
An enormous a part of the Blue Word aesthetic is making distinctive moments by distinctive collaborations or unannounced visitors, like Stevie Marvel or John Mayer leaping onstage after sitting within the viewers.
Each Glasper and Kurland are advocating closely for and anticipate a variety of these moments with L.A. musicians.
The soon-to-be opened Blue Word Jazz Membership undergoes building on the Cinerama Dome on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025.
(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Occasions)
“Collaboration is a big purpose each single day all the time from a programming standpoint and serious about the reserving extra as moments moderately than simply the transaction of filling dates on the calendar,” Kurland says. “Actually being specific about easy methods to maximize actually particular bookings that that aren’t simply on tour and never simply out there, however which might be curated and programmed.”
Glasper has his dream jam. “I’d love for Stevie Marvel to come back in there and simply do music he desires to do this’s not even his. Everyone will get to see Stevie do Stevie, however I do know Stevie would love to simply do music he appreciates together with jazz music, he can go in there and simply do a piano trio evening. That’s my primary in my thoughts. Quantity two is having Stevie be a part of Herbie [Hancock] collectively.”
Bensusan factors out the L.A. menu can even differ, with many extra vegan choices than the New York location, and distinctly L.A. choices equivalent to Peruvian scallops and a crispy rice tuna taco.
Nonetheless, the best distinction, Bensusan factors out, is the L.A. location would be the first with two rooms, an A-room for the headliners, and a B-room for creating artists and shock jams, podcasts, no matter.
“I’m additionally trying ahead to essentially opening our first membership with that second room that we’re calling the B facet, which we’ll be capable of experiment with and e book youthful artists that possibly can’t draw within the greater room after which assist develop them in order that they’ll, and giving them the publicity inside our advertising and marketing and our promoting efforts and assist give them extra gigs,” Bensusan says.
“That room will serve a number of functions. Sure, it will likely be a chance to placed on and place creating acts that aren’t sufficiently big essentially to play the Blue Word, however that may develop to play the Blue Word, or acts which might be partaking in underplays,” Kurland provides. “Additionally serious about programming that room subsequent to the Blue Word, and possibly there’s a holistic connection between the act enjoying within the Blue Word. For instance, possibly Robert’s enjoying within the Blue Word room, and Battlecat is DJing within the B facet. We’re pondering deliberately about easy methods to elevate the vibe and elevate the curating. It’s related.”
For Glasper, having the 2 rooms is vital for his purpose as cultural ambassador — making the Blue Word the spot in L.A. for musicians.
“L.A. is a giant a— ocean of expertise and legends. It simply began missing a spot for everyone to let their creativity out. And I would like Blue Word to be that place,” he says. “I wish to begin a jam session for a sure evening there. So, everyone is aware of nightly you may go right here as a result of they used to have that in L.A. You knew on Tuesday evening, you may go to this place or Monday nights you go to that place for jamming, It’s going to be a chance for therefore many individuals, to have a spot to be and luxuriate in all of the issues.”
As a lot as Bensusan, Glasper and Kurland agree on Blue Word L.A. being a multi-faceted facility, Bensusan’s final purpose on the finish of the day isn’t any totally different than his dad’s 44 years in the past in New York. “We wish to create the mecca for jazz in L.A.,” he says proudly.
