In the Oscar-winning film La La Land, Ryan Gosling’s character, Seb, dreams about opening his own jazz club. He marvels at the teamwork involved and what’s at stake during each performance. He points out how each player contributes his own idea to the mix, and how effortlessly the band weaves together conflict and compromise to create a new composition every time.
What the film doesn’t show as prominently is the effort required to open, promote, and operate a club. Ryan Metosky knows that takes its own kind of harmonious teamwork. He’s the Director of Marketing for Blue Note, the renowned jazz club in NYC’s Greenwich Village that’s played host to legends like Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughn, Ray Charles, McCoy Tyner, and many others.
Even as Blue Note Entertainment Group expands its influence with the opening of Sony Hall and the addition of new locations around the world, from Italy to Brazil to Japan, the team keeps its independent spirit alive in an era when most multi-venue companies are being bought by big corporations.
“We do everything from start to finish inside our company when it comes to putting on these shows,” says Ryan. “We book the shows. We promote the shows. We operate the venues. All of our staff: the managers, the door hosts, the bartenders, the servers, the production people, kitchen—it’s all us.”