The Gymbox site, described as an ‘eyesore’

NEW York’s Blue Note is one of the most famous jazz venues in the world that’s counted Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan and Carmen McRae among its regulars.

But a plan to open a 350-seater live music venue in Covent Garden, licensed for alcohol until 1am seven days a week, has been criticised by residents and police.

Licensing chiefs heard West End Jazz Ltd’s project was to overhaul the Gymbox building, formerly the Lumiere cinema, in St Martin’s Lane yesterday, Thursday. NYC Blue Note owner Stephen Bensusan, introduced as “Mr Blue Note himself”, told the committee: “It’s a family business. My father started the club in New York in 1981. It became the most well known jazz club in the world. We have expanded into other cities: Tokyo, Milan… we’re opening soon in LA.

Questions have been asked about how much actual jazz will be played at the venue, and Mr Bensusan responded: “The definition of jazz is very broad. Everything we present is jazz music. But there are many influences. Back in the 1980s it was rock fusion bands. Then it went into the smooth jazz era. Now it’s more there is a big scene in the UK when jazz meets hip hop and R&B. It is always evolving and changing.

“We do not want to define ourselves in a limited way. You will see traditional music one week, and then something more progressive the next.”

The Blue Note New York [Hantsheroes, blue note, NYC, (cc-by-4.0 international) detail]

Supporters included Barry Kyle – an Olivier-nominated honorary director of Royal Shakespeare Company – who said: “I have lived directly opposite since the mid-1980s. Let’s be in no doubt. Gymbox is an eyesore. It was a great artistic venue, the Lumiere Cinema. There are two theatres nearby.

“There is an opera house. And a great church. A jazz club is a missing element.”

Under the plans, 350 people would arrive for a first show with a new set of 350 people arriving for a second show starting around 11pm. Police said the set-up would inevitably increase problems of anti-social behaviour in the form of attracting pedicabs, illegal taxis, and theft.

An officer said: “There is no suggestion the kind of customer it would attract will be a nuisance. Police believe they will be more likely to be victims.”

Covent Garden Community Association’s Selwyn Hardy said: “My bedroom is exactly opposite the front door. This has only got one entrance, and one exit. There are 30 flats directly facing this venue.

“People in the local area aren’t jazz fans. It’s going to attract people from all over, including tourists. We have three theatres in the street, they close at 11. To have this every night, would be intolerable.”

He said that he worked in the Spice of Life Jazz Club on Mondays and that “we could argue what jazz is all day, but I think this is a misdescription”.

The first Blue Note venue was opened in New York in September 1981 by owner and founder Danny Bensusan. It quickly established itself as the city’s premier jazz club with many prestigious regular performers. It is still considered one of the world’s most famous jazz venues and a cultural institution, the application said.

The venue is in the West End’s cumulative impact zone. Licensing councillors said they expected to make a decision within five working days.