Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club


Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959.
WWW ronniescotts.co.uk𝕏 officialronniesFB ronniescottsjazzclub

History

The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and 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 musicians.
Zoot Sims was the club's first transatlantic visitor in 1962, and was succeeded by many others 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. For nearly 30 years it was home of a Christmas residency to George Melly 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 and philanthropist Michael Watt in June 2005.
In 2009, Ronnie Scott's was named by the Brecon Jazz Festival 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

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 – house drummer from 1964 to 1968
  • Allan Ganley – house drummer from 1964 to 1967,
  • Tony Oxley – house drummer from 1966 until the early 1970s.
  • Martin Drew – house drummer from 1975 to 1995
  • Mark Fletcher - house drummer from 1994 to 2006
  • Chris Dagley – house drummer from 2006 to 2010
  • Pedro Segundo – house drummer since 2010
  • Chris Higginbottom – house drummer since 2012

Piano

Bass

  • Sam Burgess – house bassist since 2006

Guitar

Other musicians

Other regular performers since 2006 include:

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.

Birmingham offshoot

During the late 1950s through to the early 1960s, Ronnie Scott had played at various venues across Birmingham including the Golden Cross in Aston. In October 1991, a short-lived and franchised offshoot was opened at 258 Broad Street. It hosted notable musicians and bands, such as Charlie Watts, Kenny Baker's Dozen, Robert Fripp, Scotty Moore, Helen Shapiro, and Coldplay who held early concerts there during 1999 and 2000.

Closure and final concert at Ronnie Scott's – Birmingham

In July 2001, after declining footfall with mounting debts of Β£1.5m and a failed rescue deal, the club was gradually shut down by franchisee Allan Sartori. The final concert and shutdown ceremony featuring Satsangi was held at the club on 2 February 2002. The closure of Ronnie Scott's – Birmingham was subsequently reported in The Guardian. Allan Sartori claimed to have lost Β£800,000 on the venture and later died in July 2018 aged 68. As of 2024, 258 Broad Street was reported as being closed and unused.

Live albums recorded at Ronnie's