Ronnie Scott: Birth Of A Legend

Scott eventually became more famous for the club that bore his name and the recordings made there, but as a young man he was present at some of the best jazz recordings in England. You won't know many of the names, but you'll find top-notch swing and bebop from all involved.

Birth of a Legend does not focus exclusively on Scott, but instead covers all the various outfits he gigged with over the span of a couple decades. As a small cadre of eager musicians, this set thus serves as an effective overview of the jazz scene in London. Scott was a talented musician who frequently won Melody Maker polls year after year. In addition to wearing out the grooves on records available from overseas, Scott had plenty of opportunities to visit the US and experience jazz firsthand due to a stint on the Queen Mary house band.

Just like the other musicians in the various bands he occupied, they weren't innovators, but certainly weren't imitators either; while some musicians clearly can't hang with the others, frequently the music contained here is just as good as much of what came out of the States. The record has the feel of an underdog team playing in a championship game, knowing that they may lack talent but making up for it in passion and enthusiasm.

Scott made some interesting choices in his career—fronting a big band in the '50s, for one, long after everyone had turned their attention elsewhere—but he has a confident, yet unassuming style that owes much to the playing of Stan Getz. While frequently sharing the spotlight with his colleagues, Scott always manages to make good use of the brief time available to him, and was able to navigate the demands of the changes in musical styles from the '40s to '50s without much trouble.

It's always interesting to see how non-Americans have treated jazz, and Ronnie Scott deserves to be more renowned than he is. Not simply because he was a Brit who played jazz, but because this collection can stand up with the best of the era.