What a horrid name! But it seems to have stuck. And by making a festival, Ronnie Scotts is to be applauded for focussing on this scene for the next weeks. It's the tip of a vibrant iceberg of jazz!
I hope that it is not forgotten that British jazz is not to be thought of as something that only emerges when it hits Ronnie's in this way, or for the 10 days of the London Jazz Festival.
People need to be reminded that there is jazz year round at places like the Vortex, 606 and Bull's Head where, between them, the programmes cover the musicians featured at Ronnie's. Ronnie Scott's puts on many of them anyway as the year goes on. And then all the other venues, like The Hideaway.
Musicians in the scene run the risk of being relegated to a few festival gigs a year. We have fewer and fewer club venues or similar. Especially with knowledgeable part-timers like Leeds Jazz pulling out. We need the chance for musicians to play all over the place all year round.
I have been hearing great reactions to the quality of the scene here from a few people abroad, such as from Skopje and Strasbourg. We don't - yet - have to travel that far to hear our own local guys.
(By the way, surprised that Christine Tobin hasn't been booked for it. Maybe put her at the top of the list for 2011, Simon and Paul?)
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