Joe Theobald, aka DJ Captain Wormhole, Looks at all things vinyl 

RONNIE Scott’s Jazz Café has been hosting the finest acts on the jazz scene since 1959; Nina Simone, Curtis Mayfield, Ella Fitzgerald, Van Morrison, Roy Ayers and countless other musical legends.

The Soho venue even played host to Jimi Hendrix’s last public performance in 1970. With such premium quality acts gracing the stage you can expect the crowd to be of a particularly discerning, sophisticated and classy persuasion. When we visited last Saturday me and la familia slotted right in.

The venue lived up to my expectations, dimly lit by petite shaded lamps, walls tightly adorned with black and white portraits, table service courtesy of smartly dressed and amiable waiters – it’s a bit of a time warp.

We were in for Richard Bona, a New York-based, Cameroonian-bred Grammy winning jazz bassist. Bona was joined on stage by an elite line-up of Latin artists including Dennis Hernandez on the trumpet, Osmany Paredes on the piano and Ludwig Afonso on drums.

The set comprised of tight, up-tempo Afro-Cuban tracks interspersed with solid, bold yet restrained solos, and slower spiritual grooves showcasing Bona’s incredible vocal range and West African heritage. We were also treated to an impromptu solo showcase from Bona using his new ‘British made’ sampler/sequencer, layering up and looping strange vocal sounds whilst the rest of the band took a convenience break.

Ever the born entertainer (playing to audiences from the age of five and leading his first band in a French jazz club at 13), Bona was constantly cracking verbal and physical jokes between tracks and his style as both a bass player and band leader is effortless and relaxed.

As I’m inclined towards anything musical that hails from the island of Cuba the stand-out track for me was Santa Clara Con Montuno, a traditional Cuban conversation between the piano and trumpet written by Paredes.

After the lights went up the whole band were happy to hang around and chat which was in-keeping with their friendly on stage persona and the evening was rounded off nicely by the house band’s Late Late Show, which included an insane guitar-led jazz cover of a Radiohead song (the track title escapes me).

Overall I would give the venue and musicians 18 thumbs up.