It felt almost paradoxical that a jazz club adored for its intimacy had its 60th anniversary gala in a venue as grand and intimidating as the Royal Albert Hall. But the set up worked. The front stalls of the Hall were replaced with cabaret seating with red lamps on tables Ronnie’s style.
Owner Sally Greene took to the stage to open the gala, hailing Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club as ‘the mecca for anyone who loves jazz.’ She reflected on Prince blasting through ‘Purple Rain’ at 3am during his impromptu visit back in 2014. ‘We almost lost our licence for that,‘ she remarked.
With film and television star Clarke Peters assuming host duties for the evening, the gala surveyed the history of the club and its eponymous founder with live music throughout. The Ronnie Scott’s All Stars and Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra were on fine form. Under managing director Simon Cooke’s steer, the team at Ronnie’s pulled together top-tier talent from the worlds of jazz, funk, and soul. The biggest names of the night included Kurt Elling, Courtney Pine, Van Morrison, Imelda May, Madeline Bell, and Roy Ayers.
With an ambitious agenda, there was a certain degree of overproduction. The video interludes narrating the club’s history bordered on hokey, denying several of the performers a chance to communicate their more personal stories about the venue. A joke about an unsophisticated chicken dish formerly on the club’s menu was hammed somewhat relentlessly. Yet the gala did well to highlight the work of the Ronnie Scott’s Charitable Foundation in supporting music education both in the UK and overseas.
Ultimately, the pool of talent – if not always maximised to its full potential – was deep and varied. In quick succession, Judi Jackson, Ian Shaw, Natalie Williams, Curtis Stigers, Liane Carroll, and China Moses (very impressive) each took to the stage. Joined by Vula Malinga, they later returned to perform ‘Everybody Loves the Sunshine’ with Roy Ayers. They deserved a greater showcase, losing time to Nigel Kennedy’s impressive if overlong homage to Jimi Hendrix.
In the gala’s second act, Van Morrison was in particularly good voice. Imelda May sang with raspy might on her bluesy dirge ‘Black Tears’ and The Animals’ ‘I’m Crying’. Madeline Bell had rousing support from the house bands on Otis Redding’s ‘Try a Little Tenderness’.
If the execution and organisation of the evening was imperfect, there was plenty of musical talent to keep audiences entertained.
(Image taken from Royal Albert Hall website)
