sidewinder

Reel to Real 2LP. Some good Land - and Carmell Jones - at Seattle Penthouse. Another Kevin Gray mastering. That artwork is worthy of 32 Jazz !

I caught one night of that particular Blakey double bill with McCorkle. Her band had Keith Ingham on piano I think. Yes, I remember that ‘membership’ thing. All to do with West End licensing laws back then I think. The other thing was that to buy (fairly extortionate) alcohol after midnight you had to also order food of some description. The popular option was some form of non-descript sandwich. On the other hand, I quite liked Ronnie’s spag bol offering. Back in 1981 the club was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy due to tax arrears and a severe recession. In the end the club was bailed out thanks to generosity of various friends such as Chris Blackwell of Island Records. It was a very different Soho then compared to now. Much cleaned up and obviously affluent now, although I feel that much of the likeable and unique edgy character of the area has now gone. A shame.

Mine came from Devon and cost a fiver ! Several decades ago though.

I did re-watch the documentary quite recently, having recorded it from BBC4 at last transmission. I think the depression thing was kept quiet within family/close friends. From my recollection, co-owner Pete King deserved much credit for getting Ronnie through those episodes.

😱

Never heard of him either ! Also noticed it on BBC Sounds.

Yes, this documentary has the full story of Ronnie’s depressions and death, as told by wives/partners and club legal rep, Wally Hauser.

He he - that Kevin Grey picture is funny.

‘Impulse Records - Music, Message and the Moment’. Interesting 2CD compilation.

They had 2 or 3 Tone Poets on sale, including the Harold Vick and Kenny Burrell. I think those are sold out too (already have them).

‘Red China Blues’ was overdubbed over a Wade Marcus orchestration I think. Eddie Preston would be the Mingus trumpet player mentioned.

UK MPS/BASF

Clarke/Boland Big Band - Dutch MPS

Another nice Tone Poet reissue.

Redial CD - Inspired by the Ronnie Scott thread.

It is a very sad story - my understanding is that he suffered from serious depression episodes during his life, certainly from the mid-60s, which resulted in various suicide attempts over the years. The final straw in the early 1990s was major dental issues requiring a full set of implant replacements, which was bodged (his regular dentist wasn’t an expert in this area and dental implants were in their infancy). By all accounts Ronnie lived for playing his sax and this stopped him playing, likely the final straw. He was found dead in his Mayfair flat - Open verdict but strong probability of another suicide attempt which in this case wasn’t saved. I recall the news of this and it made major headlines and stunned the UK jazz community. Like so many brilliant, natural comics Ronnie suffered from periods of severe depression.

It was HMV’s sale but I suspect it has now sold out.

Yes, ‘Scott at Ronnie’s’, another good one. There’s also his ballad album ‘The Night is Scott and You’re So Swingable’. That came out on Fontana LP and on CD on Redial. A rare studio outing from the 60s and an interesting ballad/MOR link to Land with his ‘A Lazy Afternoon’ session.

Maybe ‘The Simpson’s’ next? After all, Jackie Mac has been on it..

Yeah, sounds great. I have it on a NY mono copy but great to hear it in stereo and they have done a really fine job with the mastering. Another winner !

I’ve always felt that some of Ronnie Scott’s finest work was with the sax section of the Clarke/Boland Big Band, where he was featured fairly frequently in solos. So pretty well all of those MPS albums really. I think Acrobat have done a collection of his early Esquire releases, which are well worth a listen. Also the Jazz Couriers stuff of course. I’ve always felt that he was strongly influenced by Hank Mobley and heard that he used to get all of Hank’s Blue Note albums when they came out. He’s in print also as saying that he disliked studio recording as it didn’t capture him well. Having said that, ‘Serious Gold’ on Pye is really good, as is that live CD put out by Acrobat with Mike Carr and Bobby Gein of a mid 70s pub gig in Wiltshire (albeit a location recording, not audiophile). Was fortunate to see him play at his club quite a few times and hear some really fine playing, in some excellent bands. Generally, if there was a US main act on his band would often open the show. The first band of his I think I saw was the one with Louis Stewart on guitar, followed by the quintet with Dick Pearce on trumpet/flugelhorn. Later on he added Mornington Lockett on second tenor. Used to hear that Mobley influence pretty strongly, although some Getz influence also. As you mention, he could build up those long solo lines logically and to great effect. Also an incredible stand-up comedian. Always hilarious, although incredibly his own opinion was that he was embarrassing and not funny. In truth, totally the opposite.

Remember buying this as a youngster and getting spooked out by ‘Rated X’ big time ! 🤣

I have that Stateside LP with the Geller/Dorham session. It was also reissued by Vogue as ‘West Coast Scene Vol 3’ but only half the LP was included and I don’t think Vol 4 ever came out !

Nice gap filler at 50% off !

King. Wonder what the croc is all about ?