La Fée Absinthe

We will be showcasing a new bar from around the globe, focussing on top cities where you can enjoy a glass or two of La Fée. 

Our journey begins in the United Kingdom, more specifically London where our featured location is top Jazz Club, Ronnie Scott’s where La Fée has been a resident for the past few years.

Present Day

Today Ronnie Scott’s is packed, night after night with an incredible mix of jazz, and soul. Many of the musicians that play here are used to playing in front of thousands and thousands of fans. Yet they fly across the Atlantic to step onto the stage at Ronnie’s and play in front of 250 people.

Past performers include Ray Charles, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Curtis Mayfield and Chet Baker.

You can enjoy a glass of La Fée Absinthe served from one of the fountains taking pride of place on the bar or in one of their special cocktails the infamous Sazerac. A member of the La Fée team recently attended Ronnie Scott’s, and although it wasn’t her first choice for her wedding anniversary, found it a very pleasing experience. "Ronnie’s is a dimly-lit jazz bar – just how it should be, intimate and sexy with fantastic acoustics. Its music and surroundings take you to another era with a variety of fantastic jazz artists jamming the night away." An interesting night out not only for jazz fans but those who appreciate music in general – just remember to book in advance!

A Bit of History

Originally opened in 1959 in Gerrard Street, in London’s famous Soho district by Ronnie Scott (born Ronald Schatt) and co-founded by former sax player, Peter King was to begin with, simply a place where British jazz musicians could jam.

For the first few years, Ronnie Scott’s saw the best of British modern jazz, but there were restrictions involving work permits for visiting American players. Interestingly, Scott, and even more so King, were hugely influential in lifting the blanket ban of American musicians playing in Britain. This was on the condition an exchange deal was involved so work in the United States was provided for British players. This enabled Scott and King to enlist the services of the great Zoot Sims for a four-week residency, whilst the Tubby Hayes Quartet, who played on the Ronnie Scott’s opening night went off to play in New York at the Half Note Club.

This paved the way for a flood of other American artists catapulting Ronnie Scott’s onto the jazz-club map, such as Al Cohn, Stan Getz, and Roland Kirk to name a few.

With a growing reputation , Ronnie Scott and Peter King had to go looking for larger premises, and in 1965 moved nearby to Frith Street, keeping the former venue open until 1967 (running at a loss), to give somewhere for younger British players an opportunity to play and develop.

In 1968, following continued growth, Ronnie Scott’s extended even further by acquiring the building next door.

Ronnie Scott sadly passed away in 1996, and after his death, Pete King ran the club for a further 9 years before selling to current owner, Sally Green. Sally Green who was introduced to Ronnie Scott by her father when she was in her teens went on to become a regular in the club for many years and it was her reputation of restoring and maintaining the tradition of some of London’s oldest theatres that persuaded King she was the right person to take over. Sally Green’s first move was to appoint Pete King as honorary lifetime president and in June 2006, Ronnie Scott’s reopened after a 3-month refurbishment and has since been a venue for some of the biggest names on the jazz scene today such as Kenny Garrett, Billy Cobham and many more.