So Noted: Blue Note Las Vegas branches out from its jazz roots

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Jan. 3, 2003 | 8:53 a.m.

"We're not starting until every last one of you gets out of your seats and comes down to the floor. Let's go!"

The warning from the lips of rapper Ahmel might have seemed out of place to some coming as it did last month from the stage of the Blue Note, a club known worldwide for intimate jazz performances before seated audiences.

But as local residents are rapidly coming to discover, the Las Vegas version of the venue is quite unlike Blue Note's famed New York City locale or its four overseas sites in Japan.

Since opening Aug. 17, 2000, Blue Note Las Vegas has gradually evolved from a traditional jazz club into a multipurpose theater, hosting acts ranging from hip-hop and R&B to jam-based rock to heavy metal.

And the club's offerings could only expand in the months to come, Blue Note Las Vegas talent booker Toffer Christensen said in a recent phone interview from his New York City office.

"Las Vegas has a fast-growing population, and there are a lot of different types of people living there now," said Christensen, who has booked acts at the club since July. "So if we bring in different types of shows, maybe we can put our name out there a little more, get people coming back."

If the energy level at last month's hip-hop show, headlined by Wu-Tang Clan member GZA (aka The Genius) is any indication, many of the 250 in attendance are likely to return for future rap productions.

So close to the stage they could reach out and touch the artists, the crowd of mainly young men many with backward baseball caps or do-rags atop their heads waved their arms and bobbed up and down as the pungent scent of marijuana smoke filled the air.

It was hardly a scene Blue Note operators could have envisioned when they opened the Las Vegas branch. But as Blue Note Las Vegas general manager Ronnie Adler has come to learn since taking over the club's daily operations in January 2001, adaptability can equal success.

"When I came here from New York, I wanted to keep it jazz," Adler said. "But with the space we have, we have an opportunity to do different things, attract different crowds. Here in Las Vegas, we had to make the adjustment."

The change in approach as been possible because of the club's layout, which features two separate rooms. Each has its own stage, lighting and sound system.

The larger space, with a capacity of 500, initially served as the primary jazz hall before Blue Note operators determined it was too large to fill on a regular basis.

"They started out doing jazz and jazz-type acts in the big room, and they found there just weren't enough people to fill it up for those type of shows, even with tourists and locals," Christensen said.

Those conditions forced the club to discontinue concerts in the large room for several months in 2002, instead using it to host the Broadway-style musical "Tease."

Then, about six months ago, KUNV 91.5-AM DJ George Lyons contacted Adler about the possibility of bringing jam-oriented rock bands to the venue. A partnership between the Las Vegas Jam Band Society and Blue Note Las Vegas was born.

Particle and String Cheese Incident side project Tea Leaf Green drew packed houses for Blue Note shows last year.

Particle is slated to return for a pair of late-night concerts after Phish's two February dates, with Bela Fleck bassist Victor Wooten, the OM Trio and Grateful Dead cover band the Dark Star Orchestra among the jam-related acts on the club's 2003 calendar.

The Blue Note's list of nonjazz performers doesn't stop there.

In November the club hosted a hard rock bill called "The $12 Riot," featuring Dope, Primer55, Skinlab and Society 1. On Jan. 25 comedian Rudy Ray Moore (aka "Dolemite") will perform a stand-up set.

The Blue Note even had former Allman Brothers guitarist Dickey Betts booked for Jan. 17, before Betts unexpectedly canceled his entire tour schedule last week.

"A lot of artists really like the room," Adler said. "It's got very good ambience, and the stage isn't separate from the crowd. The musicians really feel the crowd and the crowd really feels them."

At the same time Blue Note Las Vegas has attracted its array of acts to its big room, the smaller room (capacity 220) has allowed the club to continue catering to jazz enthusiasts.

The small space houses jazz and jazz-related performances nightly, opening at 6 p.m. for dinner, with artists generally on tap for two separate sessions, one at 8 p.m. and another at around 10.

"We try to keep the small room for jazz, because that's the whole point of Blue Note," Adler said. "The whole concept of Blue Note is a small, intimate room, quality music, quality sound, quality food, quality drinks and quality service."

And in an effort to attract locals, the Blue Note also takes special care to keep ticket prices in the $15-to-$25 range, Christensen said.

"One of the things we're fighting that the other clubs aren't is that we're not connected to a casino, and we don't have a casino to come in and buy a quarter of the tickets to give away each night," Christensen said.

"So we need people in Vegas to come and see the room, and you can't have that happen with high ticket prices."