Jazz on the Beach 188

Time Travel at Ronnie Scott's

This week’s Jazz on the Beach radio show playlist features live recordings from London’s legendary Ronnie Scott’s jazz club at 47 Frith Street, Soho. Just like in last December’s special edition featuring the Village Vanguard in New York, you’ll travel through time from your table in front of the bandstand to hear some incredible performances over the last sixty years.

Some of the earliest recordings come from the original Ronnie Scott’s, fondly known as The Old Place, which opened in 1959 at 39 Gerrard Street, Soho, with the club moving to its current location in 1965. These tracks were recorded with Ronnie’s permission by Les Tomkins using a Ferrograph tape recorder running at 3 3/4 Ips and with Grampian ribbon microphones. The musicians were not aware they were being recorded, Ronnie felt they’d play better that way!

The ‘60s

The Tubby Hayes Quintet - Down in the Village from Down in the Village (Fontana 1962). Tubby Hayes - vibraphone, Jimmy Deuchar - trumpet, Gordon Beck - piano, Freddy Logan - double bass, Allan Ganley - drums

Roland Kirk - The Days of Wine and Roses from Live at Ronnie Scott’s 1963 (Gearbox Records 2022). Roland Kirk - tenor saxophone, Stan Tracey - piano, Malcolm Cecil - double bass, Ronnie Stephenson - drums

The Ronnie Scott Quartet - 1612 Overture (Gearbox Records 2013, recorded 1963). Ronnie Scott - tenor saxophone, Stan Tracey - piano, Malcolm Cecil - double bass, Jackie Dougan - drums

Blossom Dearie - When in Rome from Blossom Time at Ronnie Scott’s (Fontana 1966). Blossom Dearie - piano, vocals, Jeff Clyne - double bass, Johnny Butts - drums

Kenny Clarke, Francy Boland and the Band - Volcano from Volcano (Polydor 1969). Kenny Clarke - drums, Francy Boland - piano, Johnny Griffin, Ronnie Scott, Tony Coe - tenor saxophone, Derek Humble - alto saxophone, Sahib Shihab - soprano/baritone saxophone, Benny Bailey, Dusko Goykovich, Idrees Sulieman, Tony Fisher - trumpet, Erik Van Lier, Nat Peck, Ake Persson trombone, Ron Mathewson - double bass

The ‘70s

Buddy Rich Big Band - Milestones from Very Alive at Ronnie Scott’s (RCA 1972, recorded 1971). Buddy Rich - drums, Brian A. Grivna, Jimmy Mosher, Pat LaBarbera, Don Englert, Joe Calo - saxophone and flute, Lin Biviano, Jeff Stout, Wayne Naus, John DeFlon - trumpet, Bruce Paulson, Tony DiMaggio, John Leys - trombone, Bob Dogan piano, Paul Kondziela - bass

Stan Getz - Dynasty from Dynasty (Verve 1971). Stan Getz - tenor saxophone, Eddy Louiss - organ, René Thomas - guitar, Bernard Lubat - drums

Charles Mingus - Pops (a.k.a. When the Saints Go Marching In) from The Lost Album from Ronnie Scott’s (Resonance 2022, recorded 1972). Charles Mingus - double bass, Jon Faddis - trumpet, Charles McPherson - alto saxophone, Bobby Jones - clarinet, John Foster - piano, Roy Brooks - drums

The ‘80s

Art Pepper - Blues for the Fisherman from Blues for the Fisherman (Mole Jazz 1980). Art Pepper - alto saxophone, Milcho Leviev - piano, Tony Dumas - double bass, Carl Burnett - drums

The ‘00s

Jeff Beck - Goodbye Pork Pie Hat / Brush With The Blues from Performing This Week... Live At Ronnie Scott’s (Eagle Records 2008, recorded 2007). Jeff Beck - guitar, Jason Rebello - keyboards, Tal Wilkenfeld - bass, Vinnie Colaiuta - drums

Johnny Griffin - Hot Sake from Live at Ronnie Scott’s (In-Out Records 2008). Johnny Griffin - tenor saxophone, Roy Hargrove - trumpet, Dave Newton - piano, Reggie Johnson - double bass, Billy Cobham - drums

The ‘10s

The James Taylor Quartet - Root Down from Bumpin’ on Frith Street (Gearbox Records 2016, recorded 2015). James Taylor - Hammond C3 organ, Mark Cox - guitar, Andrew McKinney - bass, Pat Illingworth - drums

John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension - Miles Beyond from Live at Ronnie Scott’s (Abstract Logic 2017). John McLaughlin - guitar, Ranjit Barot - drums, Gary Husband - keyboards, Etienne M’Bappé - bass

Bill Laurance Trio - Chia from Live at Ronnie Scott’s (Flint Music 2020, recorded 2018). Bill Laurance - piano, Jonathan Harvey - double bass, Marijus Aleksa - drums

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Jazz On The Beach broadcasts every Wednesday evening from 10:00 PM to midnight (UK time), repeating on Monday morning from 2:00 AM to 4:00 AM (UK time).

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