The Peter King Memorial Sax Summit: Lockett, Golding, Neale, & Harper with the Robin Aspland Trio
Tonight we will be hosting an evening dedicated to one of the greatest saxophonists the UK has ever produced, the brilliant alto player Peter King, who very sadly passed away in 2020. After taking the scene by storm in the early 1960’s with the Ronnie Scott quintet, Peter went on to establish himself unequivocally as one of the finest alto saxophonists in the world. He led our Sax Summit for well over a decade and so we have renamed this evening the Peter King Memorial Sax Summit in his honour.
This remarkable gig features a breathtaking 4-sax front line, showcasing the talents of four outstanding jazz saxophonists, each with their own unique sound and approach. Taking over the reins as leader is the great UK saxophonist Mornington Lockett, who himself performed at the Club with Peter for many years. One of the UK’s leading tenor sax players Mornington is a former member of the Ronnie Scott quintet, has worked with singer Sarah Jane Morris and the Tracey’s - Stan and Clark - and was the driving force behind the brilliant “Celebrating the Jazz Couriers” quintet. He can be seen regularly at the Club with his own group. Perhaps best-known as a member of the critically acclaimed duo “Binker & Moses” - who received a MOBO Award, a Parliamentary Jazz Award for ‘Best Newcomer’ and two Jazz FM Awards for Breakthrough and Best UK Jazz Act - saxophonist Binker Golding is a superb player of fascinating contradiction and diversity. His own recordings as leader have further cemented his reputation as a voice to be reckoned with on the UK jazz scene. A beautifully fluent and inventive player on both alto sax and flute, Allison Neale plays in a strongly melodic “West Coast cool jazz” style reminiscent of her main influences Paul Desmond (of Dave Brubeck fame), Art Pepper and Stan Getz. Her brilliant compositions, relaxed tempo and melodic approach provide a fresh insight into modern jazz and her work in groups such as John Dankworth’s Big Band and with US guitarist Peter Bernstein have established Allison as one of the scene’s leading jazz musicians. Alec Harper has established himself as one of the leading tenor saxophonists of his generation. Previously associated with the highly popular outfit “Kansas Smitty’s”, you can also find him fronting his own group as well as a sideman for other artists such as Tom Misch & Soft Cell. He has performed with the likes of the WDR Big Band (Cologne) and at venues around the world, including North Sea Jazz Festival, Ronnie Scott’s & Dizzy’s (NYC). This stunning lineup will be accompanied by top pianist Robin Aspland (George Coleman, Georgie Fame, Kenny Wheeler) & his Trio.
“Lockett…plays with tremendous fluency and drive” Evening Standard; “None of the new...improviser-composer…saxophonists on London's underground scene are more accomplished than Binker Golding” All About Jazz; "[Neale]... her meltingly full, sweet tone [and] unfailingly melodic sense... never sounds trite" Jazz Views; “Harper…a leading contender among the heavies” BeBop Spoken Here