RONNIE SCOTT’S CO-FOUNDER DIES

Pete King, the co-founder of legendary jazz club Ronnie Scott’s, has died after a prolonged illness at the age of 80.

King, also a talented saxophonist, founded the club with Ronnie Scott in 1959. King was responsible for the day-to-day running of the club, including booking acts.

He also played a crucial role in arranging for the ban on US musicians playing the in the UK to be lifted, with American saxophonist Zoot Sims playing a residency in 1961.

Following Scott’s death in 1996, King continued to manage the club for nine years before selling the venue to Sally Greene in 2005. He retained the title of lifetime president and still regularly visited the club.

“It is with great sadness we heard about the loss of Pete King,” says managing director Simon Cooke. “In 1959, Pete and Ronnie Scott opened a small jazz club in the middle of London. 50 years later, it has become possibly the best and most celebrated jazz club in the world in great part due to Pete’s fortitude and management skills in keeping jazz afloat during many difficult periods. That we are all now able to enjoy such a wonderful club is entirely down to his abilities.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009 at 12:16 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.