Jazz fans sing the blues as Central club closes door
Bad news for jazz fans. They're about to lose one of the few remaining venues that offer live improv and swing.
The Blue Door is closing its, um, doors tomorrow as the Central club falls victim to rising real estate values.
'The landlord wants to sell the unit rather than continue to rent it to us,' said Chun Lau, who took over the club's daily operation from his father, artist and foodie Lau Kin-wai.
The senior Lau opened the Blue Door in 2001, below his popular Sichuan eatery Yellow Door, to give jazz enthusiasts an alternate venue after Lan Kwai Fong's Jazz Club closed. Alas, the Blue Door is now headed for the same fate.
'I don't think we'll be reopening the club anywhere else. Basically, the restaurant covered the cost of the club,' Chun Lau said.
'We're jazz fans so we weren't worried about revenue from the club. That's why we can do interesting music.'
The Blue Door won't be going quietly. A big party is planned for tomorrow night. Eugene Pao and Ted Lo will lead a quintet, and they expect lots of local jazz figures to drop by for one last jam and to pay their respects.
'Most of the city's musicians will come. We'll be open late and most guys will drop by after their other gigs.'
If you want to join in, the club is on the fifth floor at 37 Cochrane Street.
