Musical entrepreneur Albert Dadon buys Sydney's iconic The Basement
Sydney's iconic The Basement, the oldest jazz and blues club in Australia, has been taken over by musical entrepreneur and property developer Albert Dadon.
Dadon, a leading jazz guitarist himself, plans to re-open the club as soon as possible after the doors were closed last month.
It's not Dadons first foray into jazz club ownership. He has been somewhat of a pioneer of keeping Australia's jazz music scene alive over the past two decades.
He rescued the Melbourne International Jazz Festival when its funding was cut.
In eight years Dadon increased its visitors from 5,000 to 200,000 before stepping down in 2009.
He owns the Jazz Corner Hotel on Williams Street in the Melbourne CBD.
Recently he opened Bird's Basement below, a sister venue of Manhattan's Birdland.
Speaking on the acquisition, Dadon said he is examining possible Sydney CBD locations for the club. He is appealing to the public and others to suggest a suitable venue.
‘’I was saddened to see The Basement close its doors. It was a loss to the cultural health of the city and Australia," Mr Dadon said.
“I hope that with the help of those who are committed to retain and reinvigorate Sydney’s music scene we will find an ideal new location of The Basement."
“I would love to provide Sydneysiders with a wonderful 21st century experience, similar to what we created in Melbourne at Bird’s Basement," he says.
"In the meantime we will be looking at broadcasting all our shows live from Melbourne in our soon to be launched app."
In 2002, Dadon, who when performing goes by the stage name Albare, established the annual Australian Jazz Bell Awards.
They were named after Australian legend and patron of the event the late Graeme Bell to celebrate excellence in Australian jazz scene. Today ‘the Bells’ are the most prestigious awards in the Australian jazz calendar.
As Albare, he often performed at the Sydney Basement.
He has recorded 11 albums.
With his long time pianist companion Phil Turcio, their band, Urbanity, and their album Urban Soul album, this year enjoyed Billboard chart and critical success in the United States. Urban Soul is distributed in Australia by MGM.
