Blue Note will open its first U.K. venue in London's Covent Garden on 23 September, with pianist and producer Robert Glasper booked for the opening shows. The 250-capacity club launches on what would have been John Coltrane's 100th birthday — a deliberate nod to the saxophonist whose recordings for the label remain among its most widely known catalogues. Billboard

Glasper will headline on 23 and 24 September and return for a seven-date run from 13 to 27 November as part of the inaugural programme. He has also been named creative ambassador for Blue Note London, a role in which he will help shape the artistic direction of the new club. The opening season's confirmed lineup spans Erykah Badu, Jamie Cullum, Nubya Garcia, Yussef Dayes, KOKOROKO and Hak Baker.

Blue Note Entertainment Group already operates venues in New York, Washington D.C., São Paulo, Los Angeles, Milan, Tokyo and Shanghai. London is the company's first outpost in the United Kingdom. Tsion Bensusan, co-owner of Blue Note Entertainment Group, described the London opening as one of the most significant milestones in the company's history. Nick Lewis serves as the venue's director of music and programming.

The main room will host two performances nightly, at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., operating until 1 a.m. Monday through Saturday. Member and venue presales begin 12 August, with general sale following on 14 August.

For London's jazz scene, the arrival of a Blue Note room adds a high-profile venue to a city already thick with them — from Ronnie Scott's in Soho to Café OTO in Dalston. The programming mix, pairing American headliners like Glasper and Badu with London-based artists such as Garcia, Dayes and KOKOROKO, signals a bridge between the label's international roster and the U.K. scene that has grown visibly over the past decade.

What sets the date apart is the Coltrane centenary. He would have turned 100 on 23 September, and tying a club launch to that birthday gives the opening a symbolic anchor beyond the usual ribbon-cutting.