Ronnie Scott

Ronnie Scott ( born January 28, 1927 in London, † December 23, 1996 ) was a British jazz tenor saxophonist. His name is especially connected with one of the most prestigious jazz clubs in Europe in London's Soho, the Ronnie's. Scott outside the jazz world 's best-known contribution to music is his solo on the Beatles song Lady Madonna.

Biography

The musician was born Ronald Schatt in London's East End, his father Jock worked as a saxophonist in various dance bands. As a teenager, Ronald began his part to perform in various London clubs, such as the band of Cab Kaye. Since the second half of the 1940s he worked with some of the UK's best jazz and entertainment bands of the era (and especially the popular big band trombonist Ted Heath ). Ronnie Scott, as his stage name at that time already was, belonged to a generation of British musicians who adopted before 1950 in regular intervals commitment to the passenger liner Queen Mary to visit New York and the new jazz style to study bebop. In particular, the saxophone Charlie Parker impressed the young British deep, he found it not only a formative influence on his own music, but also the motivation to make known the new music in his home. A first attempt to run your own jazz club, but were unsuccessful: Trying the "hard core" to Johnny Dankworth with the Club Eleven to give the London bebop adepts own venue, failed after only a few months in the summer of 1950.

In contrast, Scott's expertise has been recognized as an instrumentalist of important musicians on both sides of the Atlantic, even the white and straight European musicians against often highly critical Charles Mingus confessed in 1961: " Of the white boys, Ronnie Scott gets closer to the negro blues feeling, the way Zoot Sims does. " ( From the White Ronnie Scott comes closer to the black blues feel, somewhat in the manner, as is the case with Zoot Sims ).

Was Scott up in the 1960s still mainly active as a sideman British bands, he made his mark since about 1965 also stronger at the international level (especially as a member of the Kenny Clarke / Francy Boland Big Band from 1967 to 1969 ) and initiated bands under the management with leading musicians of the British avant-garde such as John Surman, Kenny Wheeler, Ron Mathewson and Mike Carr.

Since the 1970s, Scott had to reduce his activities as a musician several times over long periods of time because he suffered from depression, and later from diabetes. In 1995 he retired finally back from the music world. He died at the age of 69 from heart failure as a result of taking the prescribed him after dental treatment for pain and sleeping pills in combination with alcohol.

Discography

• Legacy ( Ember, 1951-1958 )
• Jazz Couriers! ( Ember 1957 /58)
• The Night Has A Thousand Eyes ( Ronnie Scott 's Jazz House, 1964)
• The Night Is Scott and You're So swing deflector ( Redial, 1965)
• When I Want Your Opinion, I'll Give it to You ( Ronnie Scott 's Jazz House, 1965)
• Never Pat a Burning Dog ( Ronnie Scott's Jazz House, 1990)

Writings

• With Mike Hennessey Some of My Best Friends Are Blues London 1979 ( autobiography)