Upstairs at Ronnie’s: I chat to James Pearson & Lizzie Ball about the new regular classical nights at Ronnie Scott's new venue

James Pearson & Lizzie Ball (Photo: Monika C Jakubowska)

In February 2026, the upstairs space at Ronnie Scott's will reopen as Upstairs at Ronnie’s, a newly reimagined 140-capacity music venue following a significant refurbishment. The launch includes the club’s first-ever regular weekly classical night, taking place every Monday with early and late showings, as part of a programming schedule that will run seven days a week. The new Monday classical series at Upstairs at Ronnie’s will be curated jointly by violinist, vocalist and producer, Lizzie Ball and Ronnie Scott’s Artistic Director and pianist, James Pearson. I recently caught up with Lizzie and James to find out more about what we can expect.

The new classical night is aimed at classical music lovers and those jazz fans who like their horizons broadened. Lizzie emphasises that people who go to Ronnie Scott's go for a real experience. The newly reimagined upstairs space will be more like a salon with food and drink available, a relaxed atmosphere, and fabulous music. The size and layout of the new venue will encourage the connection between audience and artist.

Lizzie first ran her Classical Kicks evening at Ronnie Scott's in 2012, but this was in the old upstairs venue. This had never been designed as a stage venue and was rather challenging. But the evening did well, attracting an interesting crowd, both stalwarts and younger audience members, so Classical Kicks was presented at Ronnie Scott's until 2019. But James pointed out that Ronnie Scott's first put on classical music in the 1970s when the guitarist John Williams performed there, on the main stage. Nigel Kennedy also appeared mixing jazz with Bach and Bartok (and Kennedy is back with his trio next year), and also the Kronos Quartet.

Lizzie Ball's Classical Kicks (Photo: Tom Maine)

The classical nights will have three strands to them. There will be performances by a new house band, Ronnie Scott's Classical All Stars, Close Up Classical evenings when well-known personalities talk about their favourite pieces, and performances by guest artists. Building on the success of his long-running Ronnie Scott’s All Stars, James Pearson has created a brand-new classical counterpart for Upstairs at Ronnie’s. The Ronnie Scott’s Classical All Stars is a seven-piece ensemble musically directed by pianist James Pearson and made up of some of the UK’s leading musicians including Lizzie Ball and Shlomy Dobrinsky (violin); Megan Cassidy (viola); Gabriella Swallow (cello); Jon Shenoy (clarinet/flute/saxophone); Callum Au (trombone/horn) and James Turner (percussion).

This collective of six or seven musicians will reimagine orchestral and symphonic favourites and iconic repertoire for a chamber-sized ensemble. Programmes will include Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue (marking 100 years since its UK premiere), alongside arrangements of Copeland and Bernstein (9 February); Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, and Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (2 March); Cinematic Sounds Part I with reimagined scores from Hollywood’s Golden Age (16 March); and Cinematic Sounds Part II, with music by Quincy Jones, John Barry, Michel Legrand, Ennio Morricone and John Williams (13 April).

James emphasises that everyone in the ensemble is a virtuoso, and that their performances will be fun with the group having a sense of community, not only the approach of the Nash Ensemble. They will be taking what James refers to as an 'approach' to classical music. As an example, he mentions the Inventions Reinvented programme, where they will be playing Bach's Inventions with improvised links between the movements. There will be a jazz mindset, but the classical music will be performed properly. In other words, such as Vivaldi's The Four Seasons or Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, they will take the same approach, improvising links between James's re-orchestrations of the original movements.

The other evenings of the week will see regular sessions of different types in the upstairs venue. Wednesdays will be vocal jazz jam sessions. The singers Natalie Williams, Georgia Cécile and Emma Smith will do a set, and there will also be an open mike session. Whilst the club does regular jam sessions, this will be the first time they have done a vocal jazz jam session. They also plan to form a new gospel choir, Cassidy Janson will be doing musical theatre, there will be soul nights with featured soul singers, Friday evenings will be funky, and Saturdays will be Latin.

UPSTAIRS AT RONNIE'S - artist impression

They anticipate that these Monday nights will attract a mix of straightforward core audience and more experimental listeners. Lizzie admits to a mix of excitement and trepidation at the launch of the classical nights. The first one, on 9 February, features the Ronnie Scott’s Classical All Stars in Gershwin and Bernstein, with Lizzie's Classical Kicks on 16 February.

Full details from the Ronnie Scott's website.

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