Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

club that has operated in

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develo ...

, London, since 1959.

History

The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's

district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie Scott and

Pete King Pete or Petes or ''variation'', may refer to: People * Pete (given name) * Pete (nickname) * Pete (surname) Fictional characters * Pete (Disney), a cartoon character in the ''Mickey Mouse'' universe * Pete the Pup (a.k.a. 'Petey'), a character ( ...

. In 1965 it moved to a larger venue nearby at 47

Frith Street Frith Street is in the Soho area of London. To the north is Soho Square and to the south is Shaftesbury Avenue. The street crosses Old Compton Street, Bateman Street and Romilly Street. History Frith Street was laid out in the late 1670s an ...

. 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 musicians.

Zoot Sims John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big ...

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 Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, he has recorded over sixty albums as ...

and

Sonny Stitt Edward Hammond Boatner Jr. (February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982), known professionally as Sonny Stitt, was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/ hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of hi ...

) 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-1960s, Ernest Ranglin was the house guitarist. The club's house pianist until 1967 was

Stan Tracey Stanley William Tracey (30 December 1926 – 6 December 2013) was a British jazz pianist and composer, whose most important influences were Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. Tracey's best known recording is the 1965 album ''Jazz Suite Inspir ...

. For nearly 30 years it was home of a Christmas residency to

George Melly Alan George Heywood Melly (17 August 1926 – 5 July 2007) was an English jazz and blues singer, critic, writer, and lecturer. From 1965 to 1973 he was a film and television critic for ''The Observer''; he also lectured on art history, with an ...

and John Chilton's Feetwarmers. In 1978, the club established the label Ronnie Scott's Jazz House, which issued both live performances from the club and new recordings. Scott regularly acted as the club's Master of Ceremonies, and was known for his repertoire of jokes, asides and one-liners. After Scott's death in 1996, King continued to run the club for a further nine years, before selling the club to theatre impresario

Sally Greene Sally Greene is a British entrepreneur, theatre impresario, restaurateur and philanthropist. She is known for her restorations of the Old Vic and Criterion theatres in London’s West End, as well the famous jazz venue Ronnie Scott’s. Greene al ...

and philanthropist Michael Watt in June 2005. In 2009, Ronnie Scott's was named by the

Brecon Jazz Festival The Brecon Jazz Festival is a music festival held annually in Brecon, Wales. Normally staged in early August, it has played host to a range of jazz musicians from across the world. Created in 1984 by local enthusiasts – musicians, promoters ...

as one of 12 venues that had made the most important contributions to jazz in the United Kingdom, and finished third in the voting for the initial award. Jimi Hendrix's last public performance was at Ronnie Scott's, in 1970.

House musicians

Ronnie Scotts Jazz Club, Frith Street, Soho, London (geograph 4001868)

Many of the visiting musicians appearing at Ronnie Scott'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.

Drums

Phil Seamen Philip William Seamen (28 August 1926 – 13 October 1972) was an English jazz drummer. With a background in big band music, Seamen played and recorded in a wide range of musical contexts with virtually every key figure of 1950s and 1960s Bri ...

– house drummer from 1964 to 1968 *

Allan Ganley Allan Anthony Ganley (11 March 1931 – 29 March 2008) was an English jazz drummer and arranger. Career Ganley was born in Tolworth, Surrey, England. A self-taught drummer, in the early 1950s Ganley played in the dance band led by Bert Ambrose. ...

– house drummer from 1964 to 1967, ::backing visiting Americans such as

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre o ...

Art Farmer Arthur Stewart Farmer (August 21, 1928 – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, doubl ...

and Roland Kirk * Tony Oxley – house drummer from 1966 until the early 1970s. ::Accompanied Joe Henderson, Lee Konitz, Charlie Mariano,

and

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block ch ...

. *

Martin Drew Martin Drew (11 February 1944 – 29 July 2010) was an English jazz drummer who played with Ronnie Scott between 1975 and 1995 and with Oscar Peterson between 1974 and 2007. Career Martin Drew was born on 11 February 1944 in Northampton, Eng ...

– house drummer from 1975 to 1995 * Mark Fletcher - house drummer from 1994 to 2006 *

Chris Dagley Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name *Chris Abani (born 1966), Nige ...

– house drummer from 2006 to 2010 *

Pedro Segundo Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for '' Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meani ...

– house drummer since 2010 * Chris Higginbottom – house drummer since 2012

Keyboards

* Eddie Thompson – house pianist 1959–60 *

– house pianist from March 1960 to 1967/1968 *

John Critchinson John William Frank Critchinson (24 December 1934 – 15 December 2017) also known as "Critch", was an English jazz pianist. Biography Critchinson was born in London in 1934. He worked as a part-time musician with Ronnie Scott, Tubby Hayes, and ...

– house pianist from 1978 to 1995. ::Accompanied

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

George Coleman George Edward Coleman (born March 8, 1935) is an American jazz saxophonist known for his work with Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock in the 1960s. In 2015, he was named an NEA Jazz Master. Early life Coleman was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He was ...

, James Moody, Joe Henderson and Johnny Griffin * James Pearson – house pianist since 2006

Bass

* Sam Burgess – house bassist since 2006

Other instruments

* Ernest Ranglin – house guitarist 1964–65.

Other musicians

Other regular performers since 2006 include: *

Al Cherry AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera * Al (''Fullmetal ...

(guitar) * Alan Barnes (sax) *

Alec Dankworth Alexander William Tamba Dankworth (born 14 May 1960) is an English jazz bassist and composer. Biography Born in London, the son of John Dankworth and Cleo Laine, Alec Dankworth grew up in the villages of Aspley Guise and Wavendon, living a ...

* Alex Garnett (sax) *

Alistair White Alistair is a masculine given name. It is an Anglicised form of the Scottish Gaelic '' Alasdair''. The latter is most likely a Scottish Gaelic variant of the Norman French Alexandre or Latin Alexander, which was incorporated into English in the sa ...

(trombone) *

Arnie Somogyi Arnie is a masculine given name, frequently a shortened version of Arnold. It may refer to: People * Arnie Arenz (1911–1985), American National Football League quarterback in 1934 * Arnie Beyeler (born 1964), American minor league baseball pla ...

(bass) *

Dave O'Higgins Dave O'Higgins (born 1 September 1964) is an English jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, educator and latterly recording engineer and producer. Born in Birmingham, O'Higgins first emerged on the British jazz scene in the 1980s. After playing ...

Gary Baldwin Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Gary, Indiana, the largest city named Gary Places ;Iran *Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;Unit ...

(Hammond organ) *

Gerard Presencer Gerard Presencer (born 12 September 1972) is an English jazz trumpeter. Biography Presencer showed his first interest in what was to become his chosen instrument, the trumpet, at nine. He attributes his early determination to become a trumpet ...

(trumpet) * James Nisbet (guitar) * Mark Smith (bass) * Matt Home (drums) * Mornington Lockett * Natalie Williams (vocals) *

Nina Ferro Nina may refer to: * Nina (name), a feminine given name and surname Acronyms * National Iraqi News Agency, a news service in Iraq *Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, on the campus of Norwegian University of Science and Technology *No income, ...

* Pete Long (sax) * Ralph Salmins (drums) * Steve Fishwick * Steve Rushton (drums)

Record label

In 1978, the club established its own record label, Ronnie Scott's Jazz House. The first release was an album by Scott's quintet. Over the next 20 years, the label gained in prominence, issuing both historic live club performances and new recordings.

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: ''Live at Ronnie Scott's'' – Ben Webster * 1964: ''The Punch'' – Ben Webster * 1964/65: '' There and Back'' – The Dick Morrissey Quartet (released 1997). Recorded 27 January 1964/20 August 1965 * 1965: ''

Sonny Stitt / Live at Ronnie Scott's ''Sonny Stitt / Live at Ronnie Scott's'' is the fifth Dick Morrissey Quartet recording. It comprises a jam session with Sonny Stitt recorded live at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, London in 1965. It has also been released on the same label with the ...

'' –

and the Dick Morrissey Quartet. Recorded May 1965 * 1965: ''Live at Ronnie Scott's'' –

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...

* 1966: '' Blossom Time at Ronnie Scott's'' –

Blossom Dearie Margrethe Blossom Dearie (April 28, 1924 – February 7, 2009) was an American jazz singer and pianist. She had a recognizably light and girlish voice.Profile at AllMusic/ref> Dearie performed regular engagements in London and New York City ov ...

* 1967: ''

Sweet Blossom Dearie ''Sweet Blossom Dearie'' is a 1967 live album by Blossom Dearie. It is the second album Dearie recorded at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, and is subsequently her second live album to be released. Track listing #"Let's Go Where the Grass is Greener" ...

'' – Blossom Dearie * 1969: ''Volcano...Live at Ronnie's'' – Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band * 1969: ''Rue Chaptal...Live at Ronnie's'' – Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band * 1970: ''Somewhere in Soho'' (also released as ''Live at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club'') –

Soft Machine Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966– ...

* 1971: ''Dynasty (Live at Ronnie Scott's)'' –

* 1972: ''

Rich in London ''Rich in London'' a.k.a. ''Very Alive at Ronnie Scotts'' is a live album by Buddy Rich and his big band, recorded in 1971 at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London. Not to be confused with the 1980 DRG Buddy Rich Big Band recording, '' Live at Ronn ...

'', aka ''Very Alive at Ronnie Scott's'' –

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York ...

Big Band * 1974: '' Ella in London'' –

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, i ...

* 1975: '' Lee Konitz Meets Warne Marsh Again'' - Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh * 1976: ''

Livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to anima ...

'' - Brand X * 1976: ''

Symphony of Scorpions ''Symphony of Scorpions'' is a live album by composer/bassist Graham Collier featuring eponymous composition recorded at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in 1976 which was originally released on his own Mosaic label in 1977.Graham Collier * 1977: '' Ronnie Scott's Presents Sarah Vaughan Live'' – Sarah Vaughan * 1980: ''Complete Live at Ronnie Scott's 1980'' –

* 1980: '' Live at Ronnie Scott's'', aka ''The Man from Planet Jazz'' – Buddy Rich Big Band * 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 Milcho Leviev ( bg, Милчо Левиев ; December 19, 1937 – October 12, 2019) was a Bulgarian composer, arranger, and jazz pianist. Career Leviev was born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and graduated from the Bulgarian State Academy of Music in 1 ...

Quartet, featuring

Art Pepper Arthur Edward Pepper Jr. (September 1, 1925 – June 15, 1982) was an American alto saxophonist and very occasional tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. Active in West Coast jazz, Pepper came to prominence in Stan Kenton's big band. He was known ...

* 1980: ''True Blues'' – The Milcho Leviev Quartet, featuring Art Pepper * 1983: ''Live at Ronnie Scott's'' – Weekend * 1984: '' Live at Ronnie Scott's'' –

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blue ...

. Recorded 17 November 1984. * 1986: ''Live at Ronnie Scott's'' –

* 1986: ''Live at Ronnie Scott's'' –

Chico Freeman Chico Freeman (born Earl Lavon Freeman Jr.; July 17, 1949) is a modern jazz tenor saxophonist and trumpeter and son of jazz saxophonist Von Freeman. He began recording as lead musician in 1976 with ''Morning Prayer'', won the New York Jazz Awar ...

* 1986: ''Live at Ronnie Scott's, London'' – Anita O'Day * 1988: '' Live at Ronnie Scott's'' –

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

* 1988: ''I Gotta Right to Sing (live at Ronnie Scott's)'' – Marion Montgomery * 1988: ''Live at Ronnie Scott's'' – Roy Ayers * 1989: '' The London Concert'' – George Russell's Living Time Orchestra * 1990: ''Live at Ronnie's'' – John Dankworth Big Band * 1990: '' Live at Ronnie Scott's'' –

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...

* 1991: ''Felicidad'' –

Irakere Irakere (faux-Yoruba for 'forest') is a Cuban band founded by pianist Chucho Valdés (son of Bebo Valdés) in 1973. They won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Recording in 1980 with their album ''Irakere''. Irakere was a seminal musical laborat ...

* 1992: S Wonderful'' – Elaine Delmar * 1992: '' Fourth World: Recorded live at Ronnie Scott's Club'' * 1992: ''Ghostsongs'' – Ian Shaw * 1994: ''

Speed Trap Speed limits are enforced on most public roadways by authorities, with the purpose to improve driver compliance with speed limits. Methods used include roadside speed traps set up and operated by the police and automated roadside ' speed camera ...

'' – Peter King Quintet featuring

* 1995: ''

How Long Has This Been Going On "How Long Has This Been Going On?" is a song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, for the musical ''Funny Face'' in 1927. History According to Ira Gershwin in his book ''Lyrics on Several Occasions'', after the premiere of ...

'' –

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in ...

Georgie Fame Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the onl ...

and Pee Wee Ellis. Recorded 3 May 1995. * 1995: '' A Change of Seasons'' –

Dream Theater Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of the ...

* 1997: ''Dolly Bird'' –

Liane Carroll Liane Carroll (born 9 February 1964, London) is an English vocalist, pianist and keyboardist. Jazz critic Dave Gelly of ''The Observer'' has described her as "one of the most stylistically flexible pianists around, with a marvellous, slight ...

* 1998: ''Live at Ronnie Scott's'' – Shakatak * 1998: ''Soho Session'' – Peter Green Splinter Group * 2000: ''Ronnie Scott's Jazz House'' –

Arturo Sandoval Arturo Sandoval is a Cuban-American jazz trumpeter, pianist, and composer. While living in his native Cuba, Sandoval was influenced by jazz musicians Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown, and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1977 he met Gillespie, who became hi ...

* 2002: ''Son of Dolly Bird'' – Liane Carroll * 2003: '' Live at Ronnie Scott's'' -

Lisa Stansfield Lisa Jane Stansfield (born 11 April 1966) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition ''Search for a Star''. After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first ...

* 2004: ''Watts at Scott's'' –

Charlie Watts Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 – 24 August 2021) was an English musician who achieved international fame as the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021. Originally trained as a graphic artist, Watts developed an ...

Performing This Week...Live at Ronnie Scott's * 2005: ''MF Horn VI – Live at Ronnie's'' –

Maynard Ferguson Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often serv ...

* 2006: '' Live at Ronnie Scott's'' – Jamie Cullum * 2007: '' Live at Ronnie Scott's'' –

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock music, rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, ...

* 2019: ''Weekend in London'' –

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, pla ...

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1959 establishments in England Jazz clubs in London Music venues in London Soho, London Chinatown, London