Ronnie's

Described in this celebratory film by jazz critic John Fordham as "this bunker, this private world", Ronnie Scott's basement jazz venue has a storied history. Founded in Soho in 1959 by tenor saxophonists Ronnie Scott and Pete King, the club went against the grain of the dance bands of the time, welcoming serious players, including US legends Dizzy Gillespie, Buddy Rich, Miles Davis and Nina Simone. Oliver Murray's warm hagiography includes testimony from Michael Parkinson, Quincy Jones, and a chap who bootlegged Jimi Hendrix's last performance, while evocative nocturnal footage shows jazzers eager to experience "the American sound". Result: a dream bill featuring the free jazz of Roland Kirk, Marion Williams's Stars of Faith, and a heartbreaking rendition of Send in the Clowns by Van Morrison. Ronnie died of a barbiturate overdose during dental surgery in 1996, but his legend lives on in Soho.