A Hallowed London Jazz Club Comes to Life OnscreenHi

[Hardbopjazz]

The new documentary “Ronnie’s” tells the story of a venue that reshaped the city’s jazz scene, and the mysterious musician who lent it his name.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/08/arts/music/ronnies-jazz-club-documentary.html

[Dan Gould]

Thanks for posting Tom.

[RayB]

I went to Ronnie’s a load of times, both the old club and the new one in Frith Street. It was mostly in the late ‘60s early ‘70s before i moved out of London and got a wife and a  mortgage.

Some great nights, I especially remember the Elvin Jones Trio with Joe Farrell and Wilbur Ware on bass. On another great night we saw the Clarke-Boland Big Band, a band which included Kenny Clarke, Johnny Griffin, and a host of other American and European jazzmen including Ronnie himself

Miles only played there once - on 2nd November 1969 for a recording for BBC’s “Jazz 625”. That night he featured the ‘lost quintet’. The tapes have subsequently been erased in a act of unforgivable corporate vandalism.

[HutchFan]

I went to London for the first time when I was 19.  On the first night I arrived, I went to Ronnie Scott's.  I didn't even care who was playing. I was going!

Saw George Melly -- with whom I was completely unfamiliar -- and Ronnie's quartet.  Still recall all sorts of little details, even tho' it was 35 years ago.   A memorable night.

 

So... I'll be sure to watch this film.  

 

[sidewinder]

24 minutes ago, HutchFan said:

Saw George Melly -- with whom I was completely unfamiliar

An institution and legend (along with John Chilton’s Feetwarmers). They used to do 2 weeks at Xmas/New Year every year without fail.

That documentary is great and has been broadcast on TV (BBC4) here. Some great footage and interesting interviews.

First time I went to the club I think was about 1979 to see George Coleman, Hilton Ruiz, Herbie Lewis and Billy Higgins. Great start !

Most recent was right before the pandemic with the Mingus Big Band. That was my first time in the ‘new’ club - a pleasant surprise.

29 minutes ago, RayB said:

I went to Ronnie’s a load of times, both the old club and the new one in Frith Street. It was mostly in the late ‘60s early ‘70s before i moved out of London and got a wife and a  mortgage.

Some great nights, I especially remember the Elvin Jones Trio with Joe Farrell and Wilbur Ware on bass. On another great night we saw the Clarke-Boland Big Band, a band which included Kenny Clarke, Johnny Griffin, and a host of other American and European jazzmen including Ronnie himself

Miles only played there once - on 2nd November 1969 for a recording for BBC’s “Jazz 625”. That night he featured the ‘lost quintet’. The tapes have subsequently been erased in a act of unforgivable corporate vandalism.

One of the tracks from the Miles Ronnie Scott’s performance survives and a snippet of it is in the documentary. The only reason it survived is that was included in a ‘series highlights’ program. I think a whole number of major stars were recorded over a week or so around 1969/70 and featured on programmes but only the highlights show escaped the tape wiping. It was some years after ‘Jazz 625’.

I think there is a short bit of the CBBB at the club in the doc. Of particular note is Dizzy heading up a UK Big Band at the club sometime in the 70s, playing ‘Manteca’ and doing his ‘I don’t want to go back to Georgia’ thing. Would have loved to have seen that !

Edited February 9, 2022 by sidewinder

[BillF]

My visits to Ronnie's in Gerrard Street and Frith Street date from 1959 to the mid-80s when I saw, among others, Victor Feldman, Tubby Hayes, Stan Tracey, Roland Kirk, Mose Allison, Phil Woods, Horace Silver, Mark Murphy, Bill Evans and Woody Shaw.

[sidewinder]

Just watched a re-run of the documentary. Interestingly, there’s a shot of Ronnie at the front of the club taken on one of the weeks I was there (Elvin Jones Jazz Machine, Joy Yates plus the Dave McRae Trio). Uncanny !

[sidewinder]

I remember paying either 1 or 2 pounds per night, Tues - Thurs (off peak) with a Student’s Union Club Member admission (£20 per season). Remember buying that card from Pete King in person, in his inner sanctum office.

Prices were at a premium when the big names such as Ella, Buddy Rich, Woody Herman etc. were on. 2 separate shows per night for those.

Yes, the late sets were always the best when the noisy ‘gold card expense’ brigade had thinned out.

Edited February 9, 2022 by sidewinder

[medjuck]

4 hours ago, sidewinder said:

Just watched a re-run of the documentary. Interestingly, there’s a shot of Ronnie at the front of the club taken on one of the weeks I was there (Elvin Jones Jazz Machine, Joy Yates plus the Dave McRae Trio). Uncanny !

I saw Elvin there. Not sure it was the Jazz  Machine. When was that?

[sgcim]

They have the new one on Netflix on Blu-ray. I recently saw the old documentary they did on You Tube. Enjoyed it quite a lot.

[sidewinder]

4 hours ago, medjuck said:

I saw Elvin there. Not sure it was the Jazz  Machine. When was that?

I think that gig was around 1980 but I saw him on quite a few occasions there up until the late 90s/early 2000s.

[JSngry]

sorry, but why was Ronnie Scott "mysterious"?

Serious question.

[RayB]

21 hours ago, sidewinder said:

 

One of the tracks from the Miles Ronnie Scott’s performance survives and a snippet of it is in the documentary. The only reason it survived is that was included in a ‘series highlights’ program. I think a whole number of major stars were recorded over a week or so around 1969/70 and featured on programmes but only the highlights show escaped the tape wiping. It was some years after ‘Jazz 625’.

 

IIRC there were two weeks of recordings, one act per night. The Miles gig was a Sunday night and due to some problem earlier in the week Cecil Taylor also was recorded on that Sunday evening. Taylor had a quartet with Jimmy Lyons, Sam Rivers and Andrew Cyrille and played after Miles. Simon Spillett remarked that the green room couldn’t have been a pleasant place as Miles had sacked Sam Rivers in the past although it was about 5 years before.

I remember being disappointed with the broadcasts as instead of featuring full sets, as it had done in the past, the BBC split the programmes into single numbers by individual artists. I’ve no idea how much of the material still exists.

[mjazzg]

1 hour ago, JSngry said:

sorry, but why was Ronnie Scott "mysterious"?

Serious question.

He wasn't at all as far as I know. Pretty upfront, had his trials like most of us but not mysteries.

Serious answer.

I'll be interested to see if anyone has a differing view though

[JSngry]

Yeah, I never heard that he was anything other than Ronnie Scott, musician (a really good one), club owner, funny guy, played on a Beatles record, maybe liked to get high, hardly "mysterious", right?

[mjazzg]

Exactly.

The doc is well worth a watch if you can

Edited February 10, 2022 by mjazzg

[clifford_thornton]

10 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Yeah, I never heard that he was anything other than Ronnie Scott, musician (a really good one), club owner, funny guy, played on a Beatles record, maybe liked to get high, hardly "mysterious", right?

yup. 

[medjuck]

9 hours ago, sidewinder said:

I think that gig was around 1980 but I saw him on quite a few occasions there up until the late 90s/early 2000s.

I would have seen him in 1999 or 2000.

23 hours ago, sidewinder said:

 

One of the tracks from the Miles Ronnie Scott’s performance survives and a snippet of it is in the documentary. The only reason it survived is that was included in a ‘series highlights’ program. I think a whole number of major stars were recorded over a week or so around 1969/70 and featured on programmes but only the highlights show escaped the tape wiping. It was some years after ‘Jazz 625’.

 

But IIRC there were some Jazz 625 recorded there in the summer of '64.  (I think that's where I attended one.) 

[sidewinder]

55 minutes ago, medjuck said:

I would have seen him in 1999 or 2000.

But IIRC there were some Jazz 625 recorded there in the summer of '64.  (I think that's where I attended one.) 

I thought they were recorded at The Marquee on Wardour St, as well as BBC studio facilities including the Shepherds Bush Empire.

I saw Elvin around 1999/2000 at the club too. That was the band with Ravi - and Sonny Fortune I think.

Edited February 10, 2022 by sidewinder

[medjuck]

8 hours ago, sidewinder said:

I thought they were recorded at The Marquee on Wardour St, as well as BBC studio facilities including the Shepherds Bush Empire.

I saw Elvin around 1999/2000 at the club too. That was the band with Ravi - and Sonny Fortune I think.

You're probably right. I saw a couple at the Marquee but for some reason thought I was at Scott's too. (Jimmy Witherspoon, Mose Allison?). It was nearly 60 years ago so I've got probably got it wrong. 

Edited February 11, 2022 by medjuck

[bertrand]

16 hours ago, JSngry said:

Yeah, I never heard that he was anything other than Ronnie Scott, musician (a really good one), club owner, funny guy, played on a Beatles record, maybe liked to get high, hardly "mysterious", right?

Which Beatles record?

[BillF]

22 hours ago, JSngry said:

sorry, but why was Ronnie Scott "mysterious"?

Serious question.

I don't know about "mysterious", but there was definitively an undercover side to Ronnie, the East Ender. His biography mentions that he liked to spend time in a betting shop near the club in the company of friends whose concept of time was less musical and more that served for Her Majesty. I even heard, via London musicians, that Ronnie used to hide guns for the Krays.

Edited February 11, 2022 by BillF

[sidewinder]

Interesting - per the documentary one of the ‘patrons’ of the club was gangster ‘Italian Albert’ Dimes, who backed them in the move to Frith St and kept other gangsters away. No mention of any financial arrangement - apparently he liked them.

The ‘misterious’ bit of Ronnie was probably pinning down his character. Again, the doc mentions him being referred to as ‘a nice bunch of guys’ by club doctor Wally Hauser.

40 minutes ago, BillF said:

I even heard, via London musicians, that Ronnie used to hide guns for the Krays.

I wonder if Pete King knew? 

[medjuck]

51 minutes ago, bertrand said:

Which Beatles record?

Lady Madonna 

[sidewinder]

7 hours ago, medjuck said:

You're probably right. I saw a couple at the Marquee but for some reason thought I was at Scott's too. (Jimmy Witherspoon, Mose Allison?). It was nearly 60 years ago so I've got probably got it wrong. 

Those episodes filmed at The Marquee are distinguishable from the striped marquee feature at the back of the stage, indicative of that club just after it had opened on Wardour Street.