Peter King - Pizza Express Music Room, Maidstone - 2/05/01

As the booking agent observed to me of Peter King after we'd recovered our breath – "He takes no prisoners". Well, rather like the assault by pianist Olga Konkova last year, the discerning amongst us, knowing what to expect, found this jazz mighty to our liking, so that we surrendered in admiration right away. As far as I'm concerned he is simply the best on alto I've ever heard, and he's also hot stuff on soprano. Like many another he is top-notch technically (insofar as I can judge these things), but for me it is his passion and intensity, allied to that mysterious communicativeness without which no artist can succeed, that puts him way up there amongst my all-time favourites. He is, quite simply, tremendous, and last night ended the show with a bravura solo performance of 'Lush Life', the title of his latest CD (Miles Music CD 085). He was more than ably assisted in his endeavours by his regular pianist Steve Melling. He is of the strong-fingered rhythmic and percussive style of playing, but no less effective for all that. Orlando Le Fleming was good on bass, and heroic on the fastest tempo number they played, a hectic version of 'In The Still Of The Night' where he was obliged to maintain the pace for several minutes. He was certainly left 'glowing' at the end of it. King's regular drummer, Stephen Keogh, was also most effective. Obviously, it takes all sorts, and most of the audience were palpably thrilled. For me, this earns the ultimate accolade of 10/10.

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