BBC Documentaries

Ronnie’s: Ronnie Scott and His World-Famous Jazz Club (2020x205)

: 15, 2020

Ronnie's is a love letter to saxophonist Ronnie Scott and the indispensable night club he and partner Peter King established in 1959. For more than 60 years music giants have walked through the door of a small basement club in London's Soho. From the beginning of the burgeoning British modern jazz movement, he and King had dreamt of opening a club modelled after the swinging jazz scene of New York's 52nd Street. From its humble beginnings sixty years ago, Ronnie Scott's would become the cornerstone of the UK jazz scene and one of the most famous jazz clubs in the world. Ronnie Scott was beloved by many, from the great and famous who frequented his club, to the many hard-up musicians who were often helped by his warmth and generous spirit. However, Ronnie was as complex and colourful as the music played on his stage. In private he battled with depression, and when his untimely death occurred in 1996, it left the jazz community bereft of a respected and favourite leader. Funny and moving, Ronnie's features performances by some of the most outstanding musicians of the 20th Century including Oscar Peterson, Dizzie Gillespie, Roland Kirk, Cleo Lane and John Danforth, Buddy Rich, Sarah Vaughn, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, Ella Fitzgerald, Mary Lou Williams, Van Morrison and Chet Baker, Nina Simone and Ben Webster.