Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood had never looked quite like this. On the second Thursday in August, the famed Cinerama Dome, which had been dark since COVID, glowed a rich, electric blue, marking the long-awaited arrival of Blue Note Los Angeles, the latest jewel in the crown of the world’s most iconic jazz club brand. After 44 years of spreading the gospel of improvisation in New York, Tokyo, Milan, Beijing, and beyond, Blue Note finally set its roots in L.A. And who better to baptize the room than Robert Glasper, the five-time Grammy winner, genre-defier, and modern jazz architect who’s been entwined with Blue Note for two decades.

For Glasper, the gig was both homecoming and coronation. He cut his teeth in L.A., running alongside Terrace Martin, Kamasi Washington, and the West Coast jazz renaissance. He’s also played residencies in Blue Note rooms from New York to Tokyo. If there’s anyone who could carry the spirit of the club into its first Hollywood address, it’s him.

Inside, the scene was smooth, stylish, and unmistakably Blue Note. The new space was dimly lit, its sound-proofed walls letting the music bloom with crystalline precision while still leaving room for clinking glasses and side conversations. Jazz as it was meant to be: alive, communal, unfussy.

Glasper sat at his keys with his trusty voice-changer mic at hand. Jahi Sundance worked the turntables, layering in textures and samples. Justin Tyson laid down thunder and lightning on the drums, and Burniss Travis kept the basslines slick and subterranean. Together, they created the kind of set where songs blurred into each other, familiar themes would warp mid-flight, and no two moments landed the same way twice.

The setlist wasn’t so much a list as a canvas, painted in Glasper’s sly blend of jazz, R&B, hip-hop, and soul. “Black Superhero” was bold, urgent, and aspirational. “The Consequences of Jealousy” melted into a cheeky drop of Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”, the crowd laughing as they caught it.

A fierce drum solo on “Fly Away” reminded everyone why Justin Tyson is one of the nastiest players in the game. “Persevere” slid into a sample of Thundercat’s “Them Changes”, while the band stitched in snippets of A Tribe Called Quest’s “Bonita Applebaum” and a jam that bounced around “Shine”.

Glasper took a moment alone at the piano, teasing Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten” and flowing into a sing-along piano cover of “Time After Time” while Jahi waved a lighter in the air—a wink at Cyndi Lauper’s ongoing farewell tour. Later, the room went wild at a jazz-soaked reimagining of Kendrick Lamar’s “How Much a Dollar Cost”, Tyson once again threatening to steal the show with volcanic drums.

Glasper’s own classics—including “Gonna Be Alright (F.T.B.)”, “Move Love”, and “Over”—were threaded in throughout, serving as anchors in the swirling set.

This opening night was as much a concert as a statement. Beyond staying true to the brand’s illustrious past, Blue Note Los Angeles opened its doors to the future, where samples, improvisation, and jazz tradition blend seamlessly. Glasper, with one hand in the history books and the other on the MPC, was the only choice to christen the room. He, more than anyone else, is laying down a roadmap for where modern jazz can go.

Nor is he slowing down. He’ll return for two more double-headers at Blue Note LA on August 21st–22nd, hit the Gardena Jazz Festival on August 24th, and host his own event, Blue Note Jazz Festival Presents The Black Radio Experience, at the Meritage Resort & Spa in Napa over Labor Day Weekend.

If opening night was any indication, Blue Note LA is already a new heartbeat in Hollywood. And Robert Glasper? He’s still the pulse.

Robert Glasper – Blue Note LA – Los Angeles, CA – 8/15/25

[Video: Andre Bentley]

Robert Glasper – Blue Note LA – Los Angeles, CA – 8/15/25

[Video: Andre Bentley]