Club Eleven was a nightclub in London between 1948 and 1950 which played a significant role in the emergence of the
bebop
Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...
jazz movement in Britain.
The club was so named because it had 11 founders – business manager Harry Morris and ten British bebop musicians. It first opened at 41 Great Windmill Street in
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was deve ...
in 1948, and had two
house band
A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment.
It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...
s, one led by
Ronnie Scott
Ronnie may refer to:
* Ronnie (name), a unisex pet name and given name
* "Ronnie" (Four Seasons song), a song by Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe
*"Ronnie," a song from the Metallica album '' Load''
*Ronnie Brunswijkstadion, an association football stadiu ...
and the other by
John Dankworth
Sir John Phillip William Dankworth, CBE (20 September 1927 – 6 February 2010), also known as Johnny Dankworth, was an English jazz composer, saxophonist, clarinettist and writer of film scores. With his wife, jazz singer Dame Cleo Laine, he ...
. Scott's sidemen included
Tony Crombie
Anthony John Kronenberg (27 August 1925 – 18 October 1999), known professionally as Tony Crombie, was an English jazz drummer, pianist, bandleader, and composer. He was regarded as one of the finest English jazz drummers and bandleaders, an oc ...
,
Lennie Bush
Leonard Walter Bush (6 June 1927 – 15 June 2004) was an English jazz double bassist.
Biography
Bush was born in London. He contracted polio as a child and had a limp for the rest of his life. He studied and played violin before switching to b ...
Laurie Morgan
Laurie Morgan (17 December 1930 – 18 January 2018) was a Deputy of the States of Guernsey. He was Guernsey's first Chief Minister and was elected to the post in May 2004. His term of office was due to expire in 2008, when the next General Elec ...
. When Scott toured the US,
Don Rendell
Donald Percy Rendell (4 March 1926 – 20 October 2015) was an English jazz musician and arranger. Mainly active as a tenor saxophonist, he also played soprano saxophone, flute, and clarinet.
Career
Rendell was born in Plymouth, England, an ...
filled his spot.
Denis Rose
Denis Rose (May 31, 1922, London – November 22, 1984, London) was an English jazz pianist and trumpeter. He was a longtime fixture on the London jazz scene and was an early influence on British bebop.Stan Britt, "Denis Rose". '' Grove Jazz'' onl ...
organised many of the activities at the club.
Drugs raid
In 1950, the club moved to
50 Carnaby Street
50 Carnaby Street in London's Soho district was the site of several important music clubs in the 20th century. The police raid recovered cannabis and cocaine, and an empty morphine ampoule. This led to the arrest of several young white British men, shaking social assumptions about drug use being confined to the lower classes and non-whites.
Recognition
In 2009, Club Eleven was named by the
Brecon Jazz Festival
The Brecon Jazz Festival is a music festival held annually in Brecon, Wales. Normally staged in early August, it has played host to a range of jazz musicians from across the world.
Created in 1984 by local enthusiasts – musicians, promoters a ...
as one of 12 venues which had made the most important contributions to jazz music in the United Kingdom."Buckingham Palace hits right note with jazz fans" , ''London Evening Standard'' (3 August 2009)
See also
*
List of jazz clubs
This is a list of notable venues where jazz music is played. It includes jazz clubs, clubs, dancehalls and historic venues such as theatres. A jazz club is a venue where the primary entertainment is the performance of live jazz music. Jazz cl ...