Old Place Echoes

Event information

Ronnie Scott left a triple legacy, as a saxophonist, as a club owner and as a nurturer of jazz talent in the UK. Because his first club at 39 Gerard St was bursting at the seams he set up his larger club in Frith Street. Between 1965 and lease-end in 1967 Ronnie turned the 'Old Place' into an arena and meeting place for young musicians flocking to London from all over Britain and abroad, notably South Africa.

'Old Place Echoes' marks the first release on CD of archive recordings of Old Place alumni, Dudu Pukwana (alto), Bob Stuckey (Hammond), Phil Lee (guitar), John Marshall (drums), Terry Smith (guitar) and Martin Hart (drums).

Dudu is no longer with us but has left a lasting mark on the London scene. Tonight his spirit will be evoked by compatriot altoist Ntshuks Bonga. All of the remaining personel will be playing, some 40 years after the original recordings.

It is also some 35 years since the last Hammond organ, with solid woodwork to match church pews, rolled off the production lines. While the Hammond sound can now be imitated by electronics the size of a salami sandwich, this is a relatively rare oppourtunity to come face to face with the real thing.