The Lowdown on Upstairs at Ronnie’s

Hi Sean! For anyone who doesn't know, what's the story behind Ronnie Scott's?

Ronnie Scott and Pete King, who were two jazz saxophonists, set up Ronnie Scott’s in 1959 - originally it was in a basement on Gerard Street. After a few years they outgrew that, and found this place - where we are now - which is 47 Frith Street, also in Soho. 

Since the early Sixties, it’s been run as London’s home of live jazz.

Downstairs is the main jazz club which has become this world-famous [and] iconic room that all the legends have played in, but ever since those early days there has been this upstairs space which has mainly been a bar. It also had live music going back decades, but was always a bit more informal and raucous. It was a good time, but it never really was the same experience as downstairs.

How so?

The sight-lines weren’t great, and it was never as iconic a live music experience as downstairs. 

It has been an idea in the works for many years - to turn this upstairs space from what it was into…well, the goal we set for ourselves was to make the greatest small live music space in the world - an ambitious target, but you might as well aim high!

We were closed for about 18 months; as you’ll see, it’s had this complete transformation and is now a specially-designed, purpose-built live music experience - the sound is amazing, it looks amazing - food and drink’s great as well!

Tell us about the design features - we noticed the roofing…

It looks beautiful; it has this fabric that was sourced from an independent textile maker in Zimbabwe, so it has this beautiful pattern, but it also is designed to deaden the sound - it’s the little details like that that make it this amazing audio experience.

What will the program be like - is it more of the same or are you branching out?

We always want Ronnie Scott’s to be known as the home of live jazz, and [this new space] is a continuation and an evolution of that. We’ll have a real focus on vocal jazz, getting great singers in. As well as that, we’re branching out into things that inspire jazz or are inspired by jazz - soul, funk, R&B - we’re putting on some contemporary R&B shows I’m really excited about. 

So, jazz and the jazz-adjacent.

Every Monday is going to be a classical series - the things that maybe inspired jazz or live where the lines kind of blur between classical and jazz. The room sounds amazing for classical music, so we’re really looking forward to that.


All the Late Late shows will be regular;

On a Wednesday, we’re doing a Vocal Jazz Jam; if anyone’s a jazz singer, they can come down and learn from some of the best jazz singers in the UK and get their spot on the Ronnie Scott’s stage.

On a Friday, we’ve got a Latin night called Viva Cuba - there’s some absolutely incredible Latin bands in London, so we’ll be showcasing them every Friday.

Once a month, on a Tuesday, Late Late shows are going to be hosted by Tomorrow’s Warriors; a lot of the the legends who have come up in the last ten years or so, from UK jazz - the likes of Ezra Collective, Nubya Garcia, Moses Boyd - came up through Tomorrow’s Warriors, so that’s really showcasing the next generation of UK jazz talent. It will be your chance to see someone before they then become legendary, so that’s going to be really exciting.
 

Can you talk about pricing?

Because none of the sightlines are restricted, most of the seats are the same price, and £35 is the standard price for the main shows here.

We want to make it as accessible here as possible.

Late Shows start from £12, and if you’re a student or a Musicians’ Union member you get that at half price - so you can actually get in here for as little as £6. So that's one of the most affordable tickets in London, I think, and you’re seeing some of the most exciting jazz talent in London - we just want to make sure that everyone can experience this, really.