The Peter King Memorial Sax Summit: Lockett, Smith, Clowes, & Barnes with the Will Barry 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.
Update, Friday 10 November: Nathaniel Facey is no longer able to perform due to illness. Saxophonist Alan Barnes has kindly stepped in to take his place. Here's a brief bio:
A virtuosic sax and clarinet player, Alan Barnes has received more than 30 British Jazz Awards. Twice named BBC Jazz Musician of the Year, Alan's many career highlights include numerous tours of the US and collaborations with the likes of Michel Legrand, Jamie Cullum & Van Morrison. “Barnes…phenomenal” Masters of The Jazz Saxophone
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 regularly be seen here at the Club with his own group. Also featured will be up-and-coming saxophonist, bass clarinettist and composer Tom Smith. Twice finalist of the BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year programme in 2014 and 2016, Tom went on to win the Peter Whittingham Development Award from Help Musicians UK in 2018, a high honour. Tom’s debut album ‘Gecko’ (produced by Tim Garland) released on Basho Records in 2020 further established him as a talent of note, and Tom has worked with a sparkling array of high-profile musicians in both the UK and abroad, including Grammy Award winner Maria Schneider, Donny McCaslin (David Bowie), Ian Shaw and more. Also on the stand this evening is the wonderful saxophonist and composer Trish Clowes. A BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist & British Composer Award winner, Trish’s freewheeling style tips its hat to tradition while delivering driving grooves, lingering melodic lines and futuristic dreamscapes. Her current quartet, My Iris, is widely recognized as in the vanguard of British jazz, and her albums including her latest ‘A Room with a View’ have further added to her already impressive reputation! Finally our four sax front line is completed by the highly talented and creative saxophonist Nat Facey. A founding member of the critically acclaimed contemporary jazz quartet Empirical, Nat has become a star of international repute, with Parliamentary, Jazzwise, MOJO and Peter Whittingham Awards to his name and recordings or performances with a who’s who of jazz stars, including Courtney Pine, Tim Garland, Alex Wilson and Hugh Masekela. These four extraordinary players will be backed by the 2017 recipient of the Musician’s Company “Jazz Young Musician Award”, pianist Will Barry and his trio.
“Lockett…plays with tremendous fluency and drive” Evening Standard; “[Tom Smith] …something really special…a player to seek out again” London Jazz; “Clowes…one of the most agile and original jugglers of improv and adventurous composition to have appeared in the UK in recent times” Guardian; “Nathaniel is a terrifyingly good saxophonist, and well worth a watch” London Jazz