Blue Note to take over Regattabar bookings

Blue Note International Inc., which operates seven Blue Note jazz clubs internationally, is expected to take over booking of the Regattabar in Cambridge. The club has been booked by local promoter Fenton Hollander and his firm, Water Music, for nearly 20 years.

Officials at the Charles Hotel, where the Regattabar is located, did not return repeated phone calls yesterday, but a hotel management source said, "Blue Note is coming in, and everyone just wants to make an announcement at their own pace." Official confirmation is expected within the next few days.

Steven Bensusan of Blue Note International could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Hollander said he had heard the news, adding, "We're presuming it's a done deal." The last Regattabar shows he has booked are Rebecca Parris on June 12 and John Scofield on June 14 and 15. He said he'll start booking elsewhere, especially at local theaters. "We're forced to be competitors now," said Hollander, who just confirmed Carol Channing at the Berklee Performance Center Dec. 5. "I still need to earn a living. I don't intend to stop that,"

Fred Taylor, who books Scullers, the other main jazz club in the Boston area, said he anticipates a "battle of economics" because Blue Note will try to double-book acts into New York and Boston. "It's a scenario that I'm not looking forward to," Taylor said.

The Blue Note club chain, which is not affiliated with Blue Note Records, operates clubs in New York, Milan, Seoul, and four in Japan -- Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Nagoya.

The Boston jazz community is eager to know what changes Blue Note may bring to the local market. "We've had two outstanding impresarios here in Fred Taylor and Fenton Hollander," said Boston-based Ted Kurland, who manages Pat Metheny, Roy Haynes, and Gary Burton. "I'd hope that the Regattabar, which has a good tradition, will continue to be active and innovative, because right now I think we still have one of the strongest jazz scenes in the country."