Hats
A Ronnie Scott’s Street Party story
Yesterday in Soho, London, a great event happened. I’m talking about the annual summer event held by Ronnie Scott’s famous Jazz Club - Ronnie Scott’s Street Party.
Since 2019, every summer (usually on the first Saturday of August), Frith Street, where the club is located, is closed at both ends with a stage where, for a few hours, various jazz and blues artists perform for everybody who happens to be in the area, for free. As usual, a massive crowd gathered on the enclosed part of the street to listen to music, meet with friends, or make new ones, having a drink and a laugh.
Brief Club’s About
Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club was founded in 1959 by two saxophonists - Ronnie Scott and Peter King. It is praised as the first genre club in the UK to regularly host American artists. Over the years, world-renowned musicians like Jimi Hendrix, Prince, Chet Baker, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Nina Simone, and Amy Winehouse, to name a few, performed on the club’s stage, bringing to the place its well-deserved reputation. With six decades of musical heritage, Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club is still the centre of London’s jazz scene, and one of the most respectable jazz establishments in the world.
The weather was great. August is here already… Hot, but bearable. Clear sky and sunny. Bright sun most of the time. We humans, whether we like the sun or not so much, myself included, do all we can to stay unharmed when Ra decides to test us to see how much of his power we can bear.
Before any sun lotion was invented, we tried to hide in the shade, or cover ourselves to avoid being scorched. So we invented the hat. A must-have accessory during bright days, from ancient ceremonial crowns and practical sun hats to medieval hoods, Victorian bonnets, top hats, cowboy hats or modern caps, hats have continually balanced usefulness with meaning. Across centuries, they have marked profession, religion, rank, rebellion and fashion, transforming a simple covering for the head into a visible statement of identity.
Coming in so many shapes and forms that it will probably be impossible to count, today they often represent cultural identity, belonging, personal style and attitude, whether that means a formal fascinator, a sports cap, a religious head covering, or a segment piece worn simply for fun.
So, accompanied by the beautiful music filling the streets, I wandered among the crowds and took snaps of the accessories lots of people decided were wise to wear on a day like this. Hope you’ll enjoy the images, as unfortunately, I can’t bring you the music.
Until next time, hats off!
John
An enjoyable collection of images from this event. A definite chilled vibe🙂
Really nice set, John. You can almost hear the music!!