Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club

After an early dinner elsewhere, we came in from the rain to find Samba lessons in full swing, led by the most enthusiastic dance instructor this side of the Atlantic. It really got the sparse crowd into a festive mood, and set the tone for the great Brazilian jazz group that would follow.
We found a table in the back, were sip Chivas while listening to the music. I’m sure the crowd and experience will vary based on who is playing, but for us it was a really nice experience. And, yes, it is fantastically expensive.

Took some friends to see Ray Gelato. I’d seen him before elsewhere. I won’t see him again after this.
We paid £45 a ticket — not including food or drink. Expensive but — it’s Xmas! This was my first time at Ronnie Scott’s. It looks great inside. The food we had was decent enough but expensive for what it was. Wine was ok. Table service was very good.
But, here’s the thing. It’s Xmas and you’re going to see a foot-​tapping ‘fun’ swing/​jazz band — not serious music in the slightest — and yet the atmosphere was very dull. It’s hard to have a fun time here. No talking at all during the music. No dancing. So, effectively, you have to sit and listen. This is totally acceptable with serious artists but not at Xmas with Ray Gelato! You want to have fun and let your hair down a bit.
To confuse matters Ray himself invited guests to get up and dance later on. But after 2 mins people were asked to sit down! Terrible.
But, the piece de resistance came from the man himself. Having already made a couple of pithy comments to guests who were shouting praise (???) he then publicly chastised a young lady who’d clearly had a drink or two. He claimed she’d used an expletive in a private exchange with him and broadcast to the entire audience his thoughts on the matter. Extremely unprofessional behaviour from him.
The evening was ‘ok’. But it could have been ¹⁰⁄₁₀ if the venue and Ray had relaxed and just encouraged everyone to have a good time. But, no festive cheer here, I’m afraid. A real shame.

Went for a late night show, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Music was great, though of course, it also depends on who’s playing that evening. In our case, it was a Japanese American jazz artist, who brought with him a splash of my past in NYC, so I really appreciated it.
I enjoyed the concept of being able to order drinks at our table whilst watching the show as well. Helped make the evening a nice combination of catching a performance whilst sipping on drinks and catching up with a friend — instead of just sitting still only for the show.
The club is situated in a relatively lively part of Soho, so it’s very convenient to pop by other places before or after. In our case, I tried out London’s best cappuccino in the Italian café across the street and absolutely loved it.
Am going back to this place tonight, in fact, and I’m looking forward to it.

Good experience, food and drink a bit expensive. We were sat at the very front, and my husband said he felt «assaulted» by the super-​loud musicians, especially the trombone player, haha.
Super crowded on the night that we went; hard to move around, and they forced my husband and I to sit across the table from each other so that staff could walk through. We generally prefer to sit side-​by-​side, and here, it’s necessary in order to hold any sort of conversation. We resorted to texting each other because we just could not hear above anything else.

Ambience is very good, food is also of good standard and the live performances are those of quality! Only downfall is that u are rushed out as soon as performance is done

What can you say? It’s Ronnie Scott’s. It’s a legendary bar for a reason. The music was top drawer (Ravi Coltrane) and the venue is stunning. I only wish I could have roamed around and looked at all the old framed pictures.
I docked it a star because it is bloody expensive.

My favorite music venue in this planet. That’s it.
I was a member and enjoyed every second of it. Moved out of London and now I miss it dearly :‘[

Summary:
+ Great selection of quality jazz musicians from America and beyond
+ Classy and upmarket
+ Sound insulation is shite
Overall:
I guess this place needs no introduction from me.
Along with Pizza Express (despite its silly name), Ronnie Scott’s is one of the top jazz clubs in central London.
As a big enthusiast of jazz and world music (I know, gross generalisation), I have always appreciated the quality of music and great selection of acts the venue provides.
As you can imagine for a top jazz venue, the ambience is very classy and upmarket. The dim lighting and the presence of well-​dressed waiters enhance the whole experience.
I don’t think this place has a dress code but I guess it will be fun to dress up a bit if you like that sort of stuff. But then I see people in casual attire (like myself) too. So up to you, I think.
The acts that I have seen here in recent years include Michel Camilo (with local support brass section), Tito Puente Jr. and Joe Stilgo (He’s local but/​and he is awesome).
HOWEVER.
The sound insulation seems very poor. Sometimes I can hear noise and music from upstairs. I had always been on denial like a child with traumatic experience. It’s the world-​famous Ronnie Scott’s. It can’t be true. It must be me. I must be hearing something in my head. But one evening, I could no longer pretender that it was just me.
The act of that evening was Michel Camilo trio with the UK support brass section. He is an amazing pianist/​composer and arguably the most skilled pianist alive today in the field of latin jazz (possibly in the whole jazz). He rarely comes to the UK and this was his first visit in over three years.
Anyway, towards the end of the set, he played a solo piano tune. It was a very soft tune and at the back of the mesmerising opening, I swear I heard distinctive sound of thumping bass and beat of what sounds like funk music from upstairs. The music went for the entire opening section until his solo piano piece built up tension and volume thereby masking the background noise. I could not believe what I was hearing. First, I was very annoyed that it ruined the beautiful music. And I was also embarrassed as local for this very gifted pianist who had travelled a long way to bless us with his music. This is what the best of our country has to offer? Really? It was a very painful moment. I just sat there hoping he wouldn’t stop playing and walk out. In fact, I almost wished he did, for his sake.
That was very disappointing. I don’t know if I’m the only person who noticed it.
That said, I admit the place has a top selection of jazz artists. So I will still come back to this place for that. It will be fine as long as they stay away from ballads.
I think their food was decent too but I don’t really remember. I usually try to eat beforehand as I’m poor.

Você não precisa ser um fanático do jazz para curtir uma noite no Ronnie Scott’s. Mas sim, você precisa vir com a cabeça e espirito preparados para uma noite um tanto quanto interessante.
Este lugar é um dos mais tradicionais do jazz em Londres e já tem mais de 50 anos de vida. Desde comprar o ingresso com antecedência, até entrar. sentar e finalmente começar a curtir as batidas da bateria, sua experiência vai ser intensa e sem moderações. O ambiente te dá a impressão de voltar aos anos 60. Os shows normalmente duram de 2h a 3h30 e em algumas noites você pode ter mais de uma banda tocando.
O bar não é definitivamente o mais barato, mas se você decidiu se arriscar numa experiência como esta não está esperando drinks de 2 libras — se estiver, dê meia volta agora! A música e a experiência é o que fazem o local ser «caro».
Uma dica para você que não quer gastar muito e ainda sim vir ao lugar: Além das sessões normais (normalmente com artistas conhecidos) o local tem sessões da meia-​noite que costumam custar só 10 libras.

O Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club era um mito pra mim. O jazz sempre foi uma paixão, que nasceu lá na infância por influência do meu pai. E, por influência dele também, sempre quis vir aqui.
Ele falava do lugar, ambiente, clima e, claro, dos músicos que se apresentavam no lugar. Então, assim que tive a oportunidade de ir a Londres, uma das primeiras coisas que fiz foi correr lá e comprar um ticket para um dos dias! E olha, não me arrependo.
O lugar é geralmente destinado a um público mais velho, e oferece duas opções: mesa regular (em volta da casa) ou mesa com opção de jantar (ainda na minha to-​do list! ;P). O lugar tem todo o clima de jazz: pequeno, escuro e as mesas são divididas geralmente em 4 pessoas. O serviço é um exemplo: em poucos lugares fui tão bem atendida quanto fui aqui!
E a música? Aaah a música! A banda de apresentação era formada por pessoas muito jovens e me chamou a atenção a oportunidade dada a eles de se apresentar no primeiro horário. A atração principal só elevou ainda mais a experiência. Para mim, foi uma satisfação completa e tenho certeza que, se você for fã de jazz, terá a mesma impressão. Pelo menos na primeira vez! ;)
E tem um extra: sentar pertinho, meia luz, bom jazz e bom cardápio? Pode trazer para o primeiro encontro que é ponto certo! E para o segundo, terceiro e quarto tb. :P

The jazz and atmosphere was incredible. Unfortunately the service straight up sucked. Myself and several around me frequently had to go hunt for our server to get any drinks ordered. They probably could have sold me 2x as many drinks and food if someone had actually come talked to me. The prices for everything are sky high as well. What a shame.

Good band upstairs. drinks were pricey, but cover charge was reasonable. PPlace wasn’t too crowded the night i went. The band played 2 sets, only stayed for the first set. they were hyping a special guest, but I have no idea who it was or could’ve been. The cover charge was reasonable when I went in, but they warned me that it was going up if I came later.

Am vergangenen Dienstag war ich im Ronnie Scott’s. Dieser Jazz Club existiert schon seit 1959 und hat allerhand musikalische Größen schon auf seiner Bühne gehabt. Wer gerade spielt, kann man auf der Homepage herausfinden. Das Programm der folgenden Monate ist normalerweise schon online.
Tickets sollte man im voraus buchen oder reservieren, da es häufig sehr voll oder vorneweg ausgebucht ist. Dann steht am Eingang das Schild «Full House». Tickets kosten meist 25 Pfund — darin ist aber nicht nur Hauptact sondern auch Vorband und ein schöner, langer Abend im Club mit inbegriffen.
Am Eingang bekommt man einen Sitz zugewiesen und wird von einem Platzanweiser dort hingeführt. Neben Tischen in der Mitte und Sitzreihen an den Seiten gibt es auch eine sehr ansprechende Bar im hinteren Teil des Raums.
Auch die Seitenreihen haben Tische angebaut — ein wenig erinnert es an ein Uni-​Auditorium. Dennoch, das innere ist ansprechend gestaltet mit dunkelbraunen Möbeln und kleinen, roten Designlampen. Neben Cocktails, Bier, Wein und Softdrinks kann man auch Essen bekommen. Ich selber habe nichts gegessen aber da etwa ²⁄₃ der Gäste einen Burger gegessen haben (und der Abend war ausverkauft), kann dieser nur gut sein. Die Preise sind nicht günstig aber die Qualität stimmt. Unabhängig von jeglicher Bestellungen bekommt jeder Gast ein Glas Wasser und auch eine Auffüllung auf Wunsch. Das fand ich sehr nett!
Der Abend beginnt mit einer Vorband die aus verschiedenen Mitgliedern der «All Star Band» besteht und regelmäßig wechselt. Als ich dort war, hat eine Band mit einer Frontsängerin namens Natalie gespielt. Wunderbare Jazz-​Stimme und tolle Musiker. Besonders der portugisische Drummer war fantastisch.
Nach einer kurzen Unterbrechung wurde dann der Hauptact angekündigt und kam auf die Bühne. In meinem Fall war dies Till Brönner, der Jazz Trompeter aus Berlin. ich muss sagen, dass ich weniger von dem Hauptact als von dem gesamten Abend beeindruckt war.
Eine tolle Location inmitten von Soho. Ein tolles Ambiente mit qualitativ hochwertigen Drinks und Essen. Und sehr nettes Personal das einen zu seinem Platz führt, Essen und Trinken an den Tisch bringt. Außerdem tolle Musik, sowohl bei Haupt– als auch beim Voract und der Abend kann bis in die frühen Morgenstunden in Ruhe ausklingen.

I went there with some friends, who where my quests actually. But anyway, I wanted to say that this place is awesome, I really like it like a jazz club. It is good for spending wonderful time with friends for example. I think the interior is cool and the atmosphere is nice too. Unfortunately the place is very crowded sometimes.
However, do not hesitate to go there, for sure I will go there again as soon as possible.

I used to frequent Ronnies as a student, many years back. It still is the major venue for good jazz.

Definitively the best Jazz venue in Town. A real pleasure every time! A Must Evening In London.
Love it!

Wow. I stumbled into here, and Bireli Lagrene was playing. Total surprise. I have only seen him on youtube and admired him from afar. Excellent experience. What a great venue! No drink minimum! Has the caliber of the Village Vanguard, but not nearly as crowded.

Came here to see Doc and Jean Carne. This is a fantastic music venue — warm, inviting, with great acoustics. With the way the seating and tables are on risers, it’s basically impossible to have a «bad» seat.
Although we didn’t order dinner (the food passing by our table looked delicious), we did get a couple of very good cocktails. Friendly service and great atmosphere — certainly worth a visit.

I’ve only been upstairs and its pretty great. Being so close to the musicians, dancing to salsa music, bar can get pricey, velvet seats. Hells yes!

Now this is a lovely Jazz venue in London, if you are a Jazz fan check it out!
Intimate venue, just like in the movies!
It’s not cheap, but no good experience is.
I went there a few years back when it was one set all night long.
I have to admit, I fell asleep. I mean, I was sitting there from 7pm till 2am, ate a steak dinner and had some wine, this is a recipe for a snooze for me. sorry ;-(
But now! they have split the sets into 2! So you can go to the early set or the late one! Result!
Oh I have heard that students (not sure if only music) can buy tickets for £10 or £20 (can’t remember exactly how much) and can stand at the back to watch a set. This is good value!

Fancy, fantastic, fabulous!
Hier taucht man ein in eine längst vergangene Zeit von stylischen Jazz-​Ikonen. Wer eine Zeitreise machen möchte, ist hier genau richtig. Je nach Konzert, kann man hier unglaublich schöné Momente erleben. Dazu noch den richtigen Cocktail oder Whiskey und ein perfekter Abend ist wie gemacht. Oben ist dann noch ein extra Bereichaus dem man manchmal auch sehr bekannte Persönlichkeiten herauskommen sieht. London’s celebrity liebt diesen Ort genauso wie die Queen ihr Morgenmüsli!

It’s pricey, it incurred the wrath of devotees with a brutal sweeping aside of its 1960s-​period interior in 2007. But it still deserves five stars. Why? Because for classy jazz venues that walk the walk, there’s little else to touch it in London.
I saw UK singer Clare Martin here, whose extraordinary performance quickly left me running out of superlatives to remark in awed tones to my friends. The crowd are archetypal jazz fans, loudly applauding solos, nodding appreciatively at individual passages of the music, tapping their feet and generally losing themselves in the music.
The original décor may have been dispensed with, but its replacement ain’t bad. The seating is divided into a large space for tables and chairs directly in front of the stage, with tiered rows of seats along the sides.
The bar is pricey, no doubt. One of the guys in my party was shocked to discover that the round of G&Ts that he’d generously got the rest of us had been charged at £15 a G&T. Ouch. But it probably was the best G&T I’d have had for a very long time, perhaps ever.
So. Expensive, yes. A frequent destination for your jazz fix? Probably not. But when you want to treat yourself to top-​quality jazz in very classy surroundings? Ronnie Scotts is definitely the place to come.

We were in the Club on Thursday night to see Ruby Turner, which was a fantastic experience. The great thing is that because it isn’t a large venue, you are always in a good position to see the act and it feels very intimate.
We also took the opportunity to have a meal while we were there. The food itself was of reasonable quality, and I managed to find a bottle of red that didn’t break the bank, however the service could be a little more attentive. They were quick to sort out drinks, but we did have to ask for a menu for the food.
But, at the end of the day, it is a Jazz Club and you do go for the musical experience firstly, which was fantastic, and they don’t expect you to leave after the act finishes, as there is more music afterwards until the early hours. Its not a cheap night out, but it is enjoyable.
So, in conclusion, if you are looking for some relaxing musical entertainment, then you should give this a shot.

Having been to Blue Note and Birdland, I was excited to visit Ronnie Scott’s across the pond.
The seating is very intimate and cozy, like most jazz clubs. So you’ll be sitting next to people you don’t know, which was great for us as tourists. It’s hard to get in and out, depending on where you sit.
There was one rude, loud party. It would have been nice if someone told them to be quiet.
Besides that, the vibe was lively, and the service was friendly.
The sound is great and the lighting is dim.

Wer eine Karte bekommt, kann sich glücklich schätzen. Habe vor 15 Jahren erstmals ein Konzert besucht. Paolo Conte. Ganz großes Kino! Aber wer mit jazzverwandter Musik Spaß hat, kann hier immer hergehen.

En 1959, l’ingénieux saxophoniste anglais Ronnie Scott crée son propre club de Jazz…éponyme !
En plein milieu du quartier de Soho, autant dire qu’une soirée dans ce lieu cosy avec salle restaurant ouverte sur la scèné, c’est la grande classe ! Ici, on réserve avant d’emmener un comparse.
J’y suis allée avec un pote voir le concert de Roots Manuva accompagné du batteur Tony Allen (l’un des fondateurs de l’Afrobeat !!), avec une première partie assurée par la chanteuse Speech Debelle… et le tout orchestré dans le cadre d’un festival assuré par Gilles Peterson!!!
Bön, on peut rassurer en se disant que, nous, on a le Hot Club… né en 1957… donc avant ! mouais :(
ou en se disant que manger au Ronnie Scott, ça fait chère la salade César et ses frites jazzy…
Mais bon, ça m’énerve, c’est juste la classe jusqu’au bout ces anglais !

Definitiv eine der schönsten Jazzbars in London.
Es gibt gutes Essen und eine breite Palette an verschiedenen Whiskeys so normalen Preisen.
Bestellt die Eintrittskarten auf jeden Fall ein paar Tage vorher per Internet vor.
Freundliche Bedienungen, und eine tolle Atmosphäre machen einen Besuch bei Ronnie Scott’s zu einem wunderschönen Abend!

Ha !
Un petit tour sur Qype avant de partir a londres.
Me voici de retour.
le Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club est bien une adresse par laquelle il fait bon s’arreter le soir (assez tard).
Musique excellente, pas prise de tête, pour peu que vous soyez un brin reculé, on arrive a se parler sans difficulté.
Tres bien !

Moi qui n’aime pas trop les bars ou les boites bondées, je dois dire que j’apprécie réellement cet endroit. Musique live jazzy avec une piste de danse sympa, de la place, et des canapés un peu partout. Se trouve juste a coté de la comédie musicale Jersey Boys.
Je recommande vivement a ceux qui fuient le mauvais son et les endroits bondés.