Jazz breaking news: Peter King Quartet Joined By Mornington Lockett Are On Song At The 606
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Alto saxophone legend Peter King played two sets in a quartet setting of mostly hard bop tunes at the 606 club in London last Saturday night.
King, who turns 70 next month, played with his long-time group, joined by tenor saxophonist Mornington Lockett. The set included standards such as ‘Speak Low’ and Elvin Jones’ ‘Three Card Volley,’ in tribute to the famed John Coltrane drummer with whom King performed notably at Ronnie Scott's club.
The first set ended with a rendition of Wayne Shorter’s ‘Yes or No’ which featured a lengthy solo by drummer Martin Neu, whose playing otherwise complemented fellow rhythm section members bassist Jeff Gaskell and pianist Steve Melling to effect.
The group dynamics of the quartet helped to put King's already excellent solos into the context of a jam session feel that pervaded the entire performance. Lockett joined the quartet on most of the tunes and provided some fascinating harmonies for King's melody lines and solos that often took a while to get going but ended with flair. Melling, however, was spot on from the beginning of the first solo with bluesy lines and well-placed chords that were the highlight of the night.
- Nivedita Sarnath