Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club — London

Ronnie Scott's at 47 Frith Street in Soho has been the most important jazz club in Britain since it opened in October 1959, and one of the most significant in the world. Founded by tenor saxophonist Ronnie Scott and his partner Pete King, the club was established specifically because British jazz musicians wanted a place to hear American jazz without travelling abroad — import restrictions made American recordings expensive and American musicians rarely toured Britain. Within a few years it had become the London venue of choice for jazz legends making their first UK appearances.

Jimi Hendrix played what proved to be his final public performance at Ronnie Scott's on September 16, 1970 — a loose, late-night jam session with Eric Burdon and War, filmed for television and released later. Hendrix died eight days later. The club has hosted virtually every major jazz figure of the last sixty-five years: Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, Stan Getz, Chet Baker, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, and hundreds of others. Ronnie Scott himself — a gifted musician and one of the great stand-up raconteurs in show business — was the soul of the room until his death in 1996.

Ronnie Scott's continues to operate at 47 Frith Street, still presenting two shows a night most evenings and maintaining the low-ceilinged, intimate atmosphere of its 1950s origins. It seats around 200, the sightlines are excellent, and the audience is mixed between jazz devotees and curious tourists. A meal-and-show format is offered alongside standing tickets. The club's survival over sixty-five years in Soho — as the neighbourhood around it has been transformed entirely — is a remarkable feat of cultural continuity.