Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club

Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club which has operated in London since 1959.

The club opened on October 30 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was managed by musicians Ronnie Scott and Pete King. In 1965 it moved to a larger venue nearby at 47 Frith Street. The original venue continued in operation as the "Old Place" until the lease ran out in 1967, and was used for performances by the up and coming generation of domestic musicians.

Zoot Sims was the club's first transatlantic visitor in 1962, and was succeeded by many others (often saxophonists whom Scott and King, tenor saxophonists themselves, admired, such as Johnny Griffin, Lee Konitz, Sonny Rollins, Sonny Stitt) in the years that followed. Many UK jazz musicians were also regularly featured, including Tubby Hayes and Dick Morrissey who would both drop in for jam sessions with the visiting stars. In the mid-sixties, Ernest Ranglin was the house guitarist. The club's house pianist until 1967 was Stan Tracey. For nearly 30 years it was home of a Christmas residency to George Melly and John Chilton's Feetwarmers.

Scott regularly acted as the club's Master of Ceremonies, and was (in)famous for his repertoire of jokes, asides and one-liners.

After Scott's death, King continued to run the club for a further nine years, before selling the club to theatre impresario Sally Greene in June 2005.

House musicians

Many of the visiting musicians appearing at Ronnie's were soloists touring without their own rhythm section, or were touring as members of larger bands and they often used the house band to accompany them. On occasions, the house musicians coincided with the members of the various bands that Ronnie Scott led at one time or another. The dates of a particular house musician sometimes overlap with that of others because of the very nature of a musician's working schedule. Many of them were already, or would soon become, leading figures on the British jazz scene.

Drums

*Phil Seamen - house drummer from 1964 to 1968.
*Tony Oxley - house drummer from 1966 until the early 1970s. Accompanied Joe Henderson, Lee Konitz, Charlie Mariano, Stan Getz, Sonny Rollins and Bill Evans.
*Martin Drew - house drummer from 1975 to 1995.

Keyboards

*Eddie Thompson - house pianist 1959-60
*Stan Tracey - house pianist from March 1960 to 1967/1968.
*John Critchinson - house pianist from 1978 to 1995. Accompanied Chet Baker, George Coleman, James Moody, Joe Henderson and Johnny Griffin.

Bass

Other instruments

*Ernest Ranglin - house guitarist 1964/65.

Live albums recorded at Ronnie's

*1963–65: "Live in London vols 1 & 2" - Tubby Hayes (taped by Les Tomkins at the Old Place)
*1964/65: "There and Back" - The Dick Morrissey Quartet (released 1997). Recorded January 27, 1964/August 20, 1965.
*1965: "Sonny Stitt / Live at Ronnie Scott's" - Sonny Stitt and the Dick Morrissey Quartet. Recorded May 1965.
*1965: "Live at Ronnie Scott's" - Wes Montgomery
*1966: "Blossom Time at Ronnie Scott's" - Blossom Dearie
*1969: "Live at Ronnie Scott's" - The Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band
*1971: "Dynasty (Live At Ronnie Scott's)" - Stan Getz
*1977: "Ronnie Scott's Presents Sarah Vaughan Live" - Sarah Vaughan
*1980: "Complete Live at Ronnie Scott's 1980" - Bill Evans
*1980: "Buddy Rich Live at Ronnie's" - Buddy Rich
*1980: "Live at Ronnie Scott's - Mike Carr and His Trio Featuring Jim Mullen and Harold Smith" - Mike Carr
*1980: "Blues for the Fisherman" - The Milcho Leviev Quartet, featuring Art Pepper
*1980: "True Blues" - The Milcho Leviev Quartet, featuring Art Pepper
*1984: "Live at Ronnie Scott's " - Nina Simone. Recorded November 17, 1984.
*1986: "Live at Ronnie Scott's" - Chet Baker
*1986: "Live at Ronnie Scott's" - Chico Freeman
*1986: "Live at Ronnie Scott's, London" - Anita O'Day
*1988: "Live at Ronnie Scott's" - Curtis Mayfield
*1988: "I Gotta Right to Sing (live at Ronnie Scott’s)" - Marion Montgomery
*1988: "Live at Ronnie Scott's" - Roy Ayers
*1990: "Live at Ronnie's" - John Dankworth Big Band
*1995: "How Long Has This Been Going On" - Van Morrison, Georgie Fame and Pee Wee Ellis. Recorded May 3, 1995.
*1998: "Live at Ronnie Scott's" - Shakatak
*2004: "Watts at Scott's" - Charlie Watts
*2005: "MF Horn VI - Live at Ronnie's" - Maynard Ferguson
*2006: "Live at Ronnie Scott's" - Jamie Cullum

ee also

*List of jazz clubs

* "Ronnie Scott's Jazz Farrago" compilation of best features from "Jazz at Ronnie Scott's magazine", Hampstead Press, 2008, ISBN 9780955762802,

External links

* [http://www.ronniescotts.co.uk Club website]