Ronnie Scott's in crisis as artistic director quits

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Blowing his own trumpet: Leo Green has resigned from Ronnie Scott's jazz club in Soho, saying it was obvious to him his skills would be better used somewhere else

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Ronnie Scott's jazz club is in turmoil after its artistic director quit.

Leo Green resigned amid speculation that he had fallen out with Sally Greene, the Old Vic owner and jazz fan who bought the club two years ago.

He made clear his dissatisfaction in an email to industry contacts. Green, 33, son of saxophonist and broadcaster Benny Green, said he had left after "some soul-searching".

He blamed his decision on the "total inability of the club to attract a general manager who lasted more than a few months" and an apparent lack of interest from some of the staff.

"When it came to the point where certain members of management had to ask me who McCoy Tyner [the veteran American jazz pianist] was, I arrived, fairly rapidly, at the conclusion that perhaps my skills were to be best utilised elsewhere," he said. Green stressed that he had merely booked the acts and had nothing to do with other aspects of the club's strategy, such as ticket pricing.

However, many feel he was responsible for its change of direction since it re-opened under new management after refurbishment. "Leo Green has been a disaster, both as a businessman and artistic director," said one jazz insider. "Jazz lovers have found themselves betrayed and discarded by a combination-of soaring prices and pop-star bookings that shattered the club's 48-year reputation and proud standing as an international jazz citadel."

Unhappiness among purists has focused on appearances by figures such as Craig David, Joan Armatrading and Tony Christie, although some saw them as an injection of new blood.

Jon Newey, editor of Jazzwise magazine, said: "There has been growing concern in the jazz community that soul, pop and cabaret bookings appeared to be taking precedence over jazz bookings and that Ronnie Scott's was becoming an up-scale supper club rather than one of the great jazz clubs.

"This is one of the major cultural landmarks in London and people come from all over the world. It's absolutely vital this icon of the jazz world, its crown jewels, is protected. We want it to succeed and get back to where it was because it's far too important to try to do anything else."

He said the refurbishment had been "tremendous" but the club no longer offered support slots to up-and-coming performers and tickets were too expensive for musicians and students.

The club, which denies bad blood with Green, is expected to name a replacement soon. Peter Wallis, formermanager of Soho's Dean Street Pizza Express, a successful jazz venue, is one candidate.

WARNING OVER CLUB'S LOSS OF IDENTITY
The warning signals at Ronnie Scott's were first flagged up by Evening Standard jazz critic Jack Massarik earlier this year when he warned the club was in danger of losing its identity.

He said that less than a year after its reopening there were concerns among musicians, staff and customers that all was far from well.

He wrote: "The character of Ronnie's has changed under the new management and not necessarily for the better. The biggest issue is its programming, but a list of complaints also includes hiked prices, its sanitised atmosphere and disillusioned musicians."

In an article written in June on the first anniversary of its reopening he warned: "Far from planning anniversary celebrations, its new management team ... is on the defensive in the face of rumoured business difficulties, takeover speculation and a persistent chorus of gripes from people unhappy with the way the world's best-known jazz club is being run ... Like any business, Ronnie Scott's needs to run at a profit and if it doesn't it's in trouble."

 

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