The Royal Jazz Club opens at The Queens Hotel

Portsmouth has a new late-night address for jazz, and it has picked a building with a fair bit of history to call home. The Royal Jazz Club opened its doors at The Queens Hotel in Southsea on Friday 2 October, and the whole thing is being pitched as bringing the spirit of London's legendary Ronnie Scott's to the south coast.

The opening night was a proper affair. It began with a drinks reception in the hotel lobby, Blair Hammond on saxophone under the vaulted, painted ceiling, and guests being handed Hambledon sparkling wine while a screen showed a live film of the evening. From there, the crowd was guided into the ballroom, which had been set with candlelight, dressed tables, customised menus and a small gift for everyone. Outside, a doorman in a tuxedo, boots and top hat welcomed people in, and the hotel's general manager, Paul Playford, opened the doors before Amba Tremain introduced the main act: Natalie Williams and her soul band.

Williams is the real link to the Ronnie Scott's connection. She created the longest-running residency at the London club, her Soul Family Sundays, which she describes as a 13-year sold-out run that has reached more than 40,000 soul fans, and she has shared stages with the likes of Michael Bublé, Amy Winehouse and Gregory Porter. Her band, Natalie Williams' Soul Family, is a regular at the Love Supreme Festival, and she has released nine studio albums, including the MOBO-nominated My Oh My. The launch night was rounded off with a special dinner from the hotel kitchen, and the front-of-house team walked away with a fair bit of praise for the service.

Behind the scenes, the club was the project of managing director Farid Yeganeh, who had held the vision for it for a long time before it came to life, put together with Paul Playford, the Queens Hotel team and events partner Maverick Ents. Playford, who started in kitchens at Marriott and Hilton before becoming head chef at the Royal Beach Hotel, has been at the helm of the hotel for years, and Yeganeh has been quick to credit his hands-on experience and attention to detail.

The club didn't open in a vacuum, either. The launch was part of Portsmouth100, the city's year-long celebration of the centenary of it being granted city status, and it sits alongside Portsmouth's bid to become UK City of Culture 2029, run under the We Are Pompey 2029 banner. The bid has been shaped by more than 12,000 local people and is backed by the University of Portsmouth's Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries.

As for the building itself, it has a story that rivals the music. The Queens Hotel stands on the site of Southsea House, built in 1861, and was converted into a hotel in 1865. A fire in 1901 gutted the place, leaving only the outer walls, and it was rebuilt from 1902 in an Edwardian baroque style of brown terracotta, which earned it a Grade II listing in 2020. Today it has 74 rooms, two bars and a restaurant, and it even has a claim to fame from the screen: an episode of Mr Bean, Mr Bean in Room 426, was filmed here in 1992. With the Royal Jazz Club now part of the mix, the hotel has added a new reason to head down to Southsea in the evening.