Ronnie Scott’s to release archive of jazz greats

[Chalupa]

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/cc72bee6-0606-11db...00779e2340.html

Ronnie Scott’s to release archive of jazz greats

By Bob Sherwood

Published: June 27 2006 22:12 | Last updated: June 27 2006 22:12

Previously unheard live sessions of some of the great names of jazz are set to be sold online as digital downloads as Ronnie Scott’s, the iconic Soho venue, joins the iPod generation.

The London jazz club – which reopened this week after a £2.5m refurbishment – is in discussions with Universal Music Group on a worldwide distribution deal to make its vast archive of live sessions available online and on CD.

The club’s owners are keen to capitalise on its vault of hundreds of unheard recordings of jazz greats, such as Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Chet Baker, Sarah Vaughan and Buddy Rich.

The club made its name by attracting the biggest jazz names to its dark, smoke-filled stage since the 1960s, a world away from the digital media world. But this move, orchestrated by Sally Greene, theatrical impresario, producer and restaurateur, who bought Ronnie Scott’s last year, will make seminal jazz sessions of the 1960s, 70s and 80s available to music fans across the world for the first time.

Leo Green, Ronnie Scott’s artistic director, said no deal had been finalised but an agreement with a large record company could be announced next month. He said: “We have to do it very carefully and sensitively. It’s not about milking a cash cow, it’s about preserving the legacy.

“It’s pretty much a potted history of jazz. Jazz fans all over the world can’t come here but now we can give them some of what’s been going on at Ronnie Scott’s.”

The club is also initiating regular podcasts via its website, in conjunction with iTunes, to make jazz more accessible to modern listeners.

Ronnie Scott’s sessions have been released before, but the archive of recordings, made on a number of different formats dating back to quarter-inch tape, is far larger than the owners realised after many were discovered by accident during the three-month renovation leading up to the club’s relaunch on Monday.

Nick Moss, spokesman for Ronnie Scott’s, said: “Every time we opened up a room for the refurbishment, we would find another cupboard full of tapes. There were even some behind a sealed door in a ladies toilet in the upstairs bar. We just kept finding them.”

The club, which has hosted the likes of Miles Davis, Nina Simone and Count Basie, is still not even quite sure of precisely what jazz gems it has in its vaults: some of the tapes’ labels have peeled off and the archive that runs into thousands of tracks is yet to be catalogued. One of the problems is simply finding old-format machines to play the tapes on.

The club hopes to turn the recordings into compilation albums, possibly releasing one a year.

[Chalupa]

Hmm.. nothing about it on their homepage.

http://www.ronniescotts.co.uk/?home

[Chuck Nessa]

Lotta stuff issued in bad sound so far.

[chris olivarez]

I have some Irakere dates from there that sound pretty good but if your going to shell out that much money to refurbish your place and you want to help make it up with cd sales I would think improving the sound would be paramount.

[Dan Gould]

Didn't Hank gig there when he was in Europe in '68?

[marcello]

It's strange that the new owners of Ronnies will be milkink their archive of real jazz when it's current policy takes a more commercial slant, raises prices and changes thier club member policy.

That said, they have a vast horde of material and have been recording their artists for many years.

The articles of late never mention that actor Kevin Spacey is a partner along with Sally Greene. She (and I believe Spacey too) own The Old Vic theatre, although his is the A

Artistic Director. The real estate that Ronnie's occupies, is a prime Soho location.

Greene (far right), Elton John, Kevin Spacey and Old Vic producer David Liddiment.

Do you believe that these people are jazz fans?

Here is a recent article:

Ronnie Scott's

Time Out gets an early peek at the refurbished Ronnie Scott’s and discovers that the changes go much further than a quick lick of paint

I’m standing on a spot in Ronnie Scott’s where Dizzy Gillespie once threw up. ‘You didn’t want to look at the old carpet too closely,’ says Leo Green, the new musical booker at Ronnie Scott’s. ‘It was pretty sordid. And then there were the chairs – like something from your old fucking geography class. And then there was the food…’

Ronnie Scott’s might be one of the world’s most famous jazz clubs, but it has been looking shabby for a while. You might have got a thrill from using the same lavatories where Miles Davis snorted coke and where Bill Evans fixed up, but you’d also be cramped into uncomfortable seats, hearing expense-account suits jabbering loudly through the headline sets and trying to get the attention of surly waiters who’d forget to bring you drinks you’d ordered an hour ago.

The menu, of course, was legendarily bad, as Ronnie Scott himself famously acknowledged in an early Melody Maker advert (‘Food untouched by human hand – our chef is a gorilla’). It’s little wonder that, for many jazz purists, Ronnie’s even lost its position as Soho’s pre-eminent jazz venue to the Pizza Express on Dean Street.

Ronnie’s was bought last year by Sally Greene – who runs the Old Vic and Criterion theatres – and was closed in March for major refurbishment, under the auspices of Parisian designer Jacques Garcia. The entire three-storey space has been gutted: the kitchen has been revamped (with a classy ‘traditional English’ menu); the bar and mixing desk have been moved to the back, opposite the stage; seating has been placed to the right of the stage; there is now a ramp at the entrance for wheelchair access (and a disabled toilet); the cosy downstairs bar has been redone and the upstairs dancefloor turned into a private members bar. But the main venue remains intact: they’ve tried to retain the room’s old acoustics, while each of the iconic photographs of jazz legends that lined the walls has been replaced in exactly the same position.

The refurbishment has come at a cost. Entry prices have gone up – midweek gigs have risen from £20 to £25, and the Friday and Saturday acts have soared to £35, rising to £45 for bigger names. There will also be an additional £23 charge for a two-course menu (although you can still choose not to eat, or order finger food à la carte when the main act is playing). And the headline acts will no longer be playing fixed, Monday-to-Saturday runs – there will instead be shorter residencies.

‘We’ve got a lot more flexibility now,’ says Leo Green, the 32-year-old saxophonist – and son of the late broadcaster and musician Benny Green – who has been brought in by Sally Greene to book the acts. ‘We’re often dealing with American musicians who are playing festivals or big theatre halls in Europe, and they will rarely have six nights free in a touring schedule. Also, let’s face it, there are fewer and fewer artists who can sell out six nights. Ronnie was able to put on Stan Getz one week, Mingus the next, and Sonny Rollins the week after that. We can’t. And the few jazz legends who are alive are playing big, 3,000-seater venues or outdoor festivals rather than 250-capacity clubs like ours.’

The schedule for the next few months includes some heavyweight names – including Ramsey Lewis, Chick Corea, David Sanborn and Wynton Marsalis – but also a few that have raised eyebrows, suggesting that the venue may be moving towards the looser definition of ‘jazz’ employed by, say, Camden’s Jazz Café.

‘There are some great bookings but also some questionable ones,’ says Jon Newey, editor of the jazz bible Jazzwise. ‘Of course, Ronnie’s has always booked non-jazz artists like Lisa Stansfield and Ike Turner, but I’m not sure that, say, Gary US Bonds and Alexander O’Neal are convincing or prestigious enough for Ronnie’s. On the other hand, people look at the old days at Ronnie’s through rose-tinted spectacles. You might have had a great name like Sonny Rollins for one week but he’d be followed by two or three lesser names. And, let’s face it, £45 isn’t a great deal to see big names like Wynton or Chick Corea in such an intimate venue – you’d certainly pay more than that to sit in the first six rows of the Barbican.’

There are other concerns about the prices. Previously, club members could get in for £5 on weekdays, £10 on Fridays and Saturdays, while students and Musicians Union members would get a reduced entry rate of £10 from Monday to Thursday. Membership has now trebled to £165 a year but there will no longer be any price reduction for members – instead they’ll get ‘priority booking’ for gigs, while membership of the new upstairs bar will set you back a further £365 a year. With the NUS and MU reductions there is mixed news – both will get free entry after 11pm (subject to space) but there will be no formal price reductions for headline acts.

The main change for punters will be the opening hours. The venue used to open at around 9pm and alternate between the support act and main act until 2am. Now it will open at 6.30pm, allowing the support act to start early while some punters will be dining, and the main act will play a much longer 90 minute set from 9.45pm. From midnight another support act will play into the early hours of the morning. On Thursdays, the headline act will come on later (10.45pm), and on Fridays and Saturdays there will be a two shows with separate entry fees – one running from 6.30-10.30pm, another from 11pm-3am.

‘You’ve got to move with the times,’ says Green. ‘When Ronnie and Pete King first opened this place nearly 50 years ago, you couldn’t get a drink after 11pm in London, let alone buy dinner at two in the morning. And many of the tactics used by New York clubs just don’t work here. You couldn’t get away with having two houses – an early and later show – every night of the week in London, but you can do that on Fridays and Saturdays. American clubs might have cover charges – where you pay a minimum of $20 for food – but in London most punters would think that was bollocks. And you can’t have headliners not finishing their act until past midnight. When people have to get the tube home, pay babysitters and get up for work the next day, that’s just commercial suicide.’

Ronnie Scott's re-opens on Monday June 26 with the Monty Alexander Trio.

[sidewinder]

But why have they taken away the archive of 'Jazz at Ronnie Scots' magazine from their website? That was a useful resource. Used to be free but now you have to pay a fortune for it. Sign of the times..

[sidewinder]

Didn't Hank gig there when he was in Europe in '68?

I believe Mobley did several weeks of residency at the club and also sorted out accomodation and other UK gigs for Hank.

In fact Ronnie Scott has a huge Mobley fan (I've read that he owned many Mobley BN vinyl originals) and his own style of playing was very strongly influenced by Hank.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

yes the legend as its been told is hank just jumped ship and flew to UK with nothing but his horn and he called Ronnie Scott from Hetherow airport at 3 am and ronnie picked him up and then they sorted out the rest of his gigs, etc. these need to come out as cds too- would that break elton johns back. ill try to see if devil boy's older brothers friend still has kevin spacey's secret separate voice mail line just for random gay sex hookups, maybe we can bug him to release the mobley. (yea did i tell u guys about that- devil boys brothers friend met him at JFK and got the # and i called the # and he just says "hi, im not here, leave a message"- but it without a doubt is totally kevin spacey- when you hear it you just know!)

anyways mobleys live playing in '68 is very different than on record, very stream of concincious, free flowin hank. he takes these long ass 10 minute solos.

[David Ayers]

Material from Ronnie's which we have heard so far (from their own label and from Harkit) has never been less than interesting, often intensely interesting, even though the sound is 'historical'. It seems a British jazz club had more sense than most US ones to archive material - perhaps at that time jazz was more valued over here than there? Or perhaps American musicians couldn't be taken for granted the way they were back home?

[Alexander Hawkins]

Leo Green, Ronnie Scott’s artistic director, said no deal had been finalised but an agreement with a large record company could be announced next month. He said: “We have to do it very carefully and sensitively. It’s not about milking a cash cow, it’s about preserving the legacy.

Yeah right, it's not about the money. It now costs (I believe I'm right in saying) AT LEAST £25 to get in (concessions notwithstanding) to Ronnie's. Sometimes more for higher stature artists.

Ronnie's is a joke. Just about the most conservative jazz establishment (I use the word 'establishment' pointedly) in town. Look at their schedule for the reopening - Chris Botti? Dave Sanborn? Wynton Marsalis next month? It's a disgrace. Ronnie himself would doubtless be disgusted.

And where are the great British musicians on the bill? Stan Tracey? Keith Tippett? Evan Parker? What about the young British musicians who aren't straight out of the music college sausage factory?

[sidewinder]

Sadly, I suspect bottom line economics is behind a lot of what is now happening at Ronnie's.

£25 admission is outrageous and the new membership fees look stratospheric as well. Ronnie always gave musicians union members and students a price break mid-week, a gesture which was much appreciated by many.

The last straw for me though has been to take the 'Jazz at Ronnie Scotts' magazine archive off-line before everyone had chance to download copies !

Talking of Keith Tippett - at least the Bath Fest had the good sense to present this most important musician this year in the splendor of the Georgian Guildhall.

Edited June 29, 2006 by sidewinder

[Alexander Hawkins]

Sadly, I suspect bottom line economics is behind a lot of what is now happening at Ronnie's.

£25 admission is outrageous and the new membership fees look stratospheric as well. Ronnie always gave musicians union members and students a price break mid-week, a gesture which was much appreciated by many.

The last straw for me though has been to take the 'Jazz at Ronnie Scotts' magazine archive off-line before everyone had chance to download copies !

Talking of Keith Tippett - at least the Bath Fest had the good sense to present this most important musician this year in the splendor of the Georgian Guildhall.

That's great about Tippett - I'm really starting to appreciate his playing.

Ronnie's have sold out wholesale. I hope they have a really tough time of it - it certainly won't harm any musicians anyone cares about, and it'll teach them to try to commodify our music

The place has turned into somewhere for people who like the idea of jazz more than jazz itself, and that's a pretty pernicious thing .

p.s. I agree - I used to appreciate the student discount very much.