Bennetts Lane Jazz Club

Bennetts Lane Jazz Club,[1] a live jazz performance music venue in Melbourne, Australia, was located at the end of its namesake lane off Little Lonsdale Street from 1992 to 2017.[2] New owners planned to reopen the club in new premises in Flinders Lane, and open in the 2020s.

History

Entrepreneur Michael Tortoni opened the club on 27 November 1992, and added a second performance space in an adjoining building to the north called the Jazz Lab in January 2000 for the Melbourne International Jazz Festival.[3][4] The club has hosted local, national and international musicians and was the flagship venue for the Melbourne Jazz Festival for many years. Lonely Planet called it "The World's Best Jazz Club" and it won the Best Venue Award at the Australian Jazz Awards in 2003[5] and 2004, the award being discontinued thereafter.[6][7]

The venue closed on 15 June 2015, following the sale of the real estate assets by Tortoni for $10 million[8] to a developer intent on building an apartment complex on the site.[9] Tortoni then sold the intellectual property of the club, including the employment of long-time manager Megan Evans, to entrepreneur David Marriner in June 2015.[10]

Marriner negotiated with the developer to retain the club at its original site until they were ready to begin works. The club reopened 10 weeks after initially closing, on August 27, 2015, with a performance by Yvette Johansson, and an updated interior, air conditioning, and sound system.[11] During this time Marriner enlisted Evans' design studio, Brolly Studios, to design the new club at its future location in Flinders Lane, behind the Grand Hyatt,[12] the plans for which were approved in 2016. The studios closed to allow space for the developer to install a display suite, and Flipboard Cafe,[13] also onsite, continued to operate. Due to the club still operating, the opportunity to reconsider the design allowed Marriner and Evans to update their design. The new design was approved by the Melbourne City Council in 2019.[14] The club vacated the Bennetts Lane site mid-February 2017, and closed on the 8th.

Since its closure David Marriner and his team have been awaiting the go-ahead by the Grand Hyatt land owners to begin construction.[15] As of February 2020 there was no news of construction or projected opening dates.[16] On November 13, 2022, the owners seem to have made the decision to put their efforts on hold for the time being.[17]

Michael Tortoni opened a new jazz club in April 2017, "The Jazzlab", in Leslie St, Brunswick.[18][19]

Performers

Musicians who have performed at the club include:

See also

References
  1. "Bennetts Lane". Bennettslane.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2000. Retrieved 20 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. "Google Maps". Google.com. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  3. "Discover the Lane"[Usurped!], Bennett's Lane. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  4. Claire Halliday, "Can you dig it?", The Age, 2 May 2005. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  5. Carolyn Webb, "Top honour for jazz veteran 'Lazy Ade'", The Age, 29 August 2003. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  6. Greg Burchall, "Giving is its own award", The Age, May 24, 2006. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  7. Andra Jackson, "Round midnight in Melbourne", The Age, 18 April 2009. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  8. Pallisco, Marc (10 July 2015). "Capital Gain: Bennetts Lane Jazz Club to move to Grand Hyatt". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  9. Robb, Kirsten. "Controversial tower given VCAT approval to replace Bennetts Lane Jazz Club". Domain. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  10. "Megan Evans: How Allan Browne saved Bennetts Lane". AustralianJazz.net. 23 September 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  11. Dwyer, Michael (14 August 2015). "Bennetts Lane Jazz Club reopens with Yvette Johansson". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  12. "Council Meeting - Bennetts Lane July 2016" (PDF). Melbourne.vic.gov.au.
  13. "Flipboard Cafe". ArchitectureAU. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  14. Johanson, Simon (30 July 2019). "Jazz club to reopen in upmarket Hyatt hotel building". Commercial Real Estate. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  15. Johanson, Simon (30 July 2019). "Jazz club to reopen in upmarket Hyatt hotel building". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  16. "Where is Marriner's Jazz Club?". Cbdnews.com.au. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  17. "Bennetts Lane Decision". facebook.com. 13 November 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  18. "JazzLab Club : Homepage". Jazzlab.club. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  19. Hastings, Emma (1 August 2017). "Not a lounge — 'it's a hard-core jazz club'". Heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  20. Bowden, Ebony (15 June 2015). "Australian Jazz community mourns death of drummer and composer Allan Browne". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  21. Middleton, Carol (27 January 2007) "Hayley Clare Quintet", Retrieved 8 September 2022
  22. Michael Dwyer, "Prodigy makes great Corea move on her stairway to jazz heaven", The Age, 5 May 2007. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  23. "Evans/Swanton/Hall". Australianmusiccentre.com.au. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  24. Dwyer, Michael (13 October 2011). "Stares, whispers and heavy metal swing". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  25. Andra Jackson, "Don't ask me, I'm the conduit", The Age, 19 April 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  26. "Transient Tuesdays @ Bennetts Lane". Andreakellerpiano.com.au. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  27. "Melbourne Music Listings 28 February - 6 March 2014". The Sydney Morning Herald. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  28. "Esperanza Spalding @ Bennetts Lane". Beat.com.au. 3 June 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  29. Patrick Donovan, "Prince's secret gig not-so-secret", The Age, 12 October 2003. Retrieved 10 January 2012.

37°48′32″S 144°58′3″E

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