PETER KING
Genres: Hard Bop, Post Bop, Third Stream, RnB • United Kingdom

Peter King, saxophonist and composer, born 11 August 1940; died 23 August 2020 The British jazz saxophonist Peter King, who has died aged 80, was the kind of gifted obsessive who learned to do it brilliantly, as an internationally admired improviser and later as a player-composer bridging jazz, classical music and opera. On the side, he also found fame for an equally disciplined approach to his aeromodelling hobby. As if mirroring his jazz life, King pursued the difficult art of free rather than radio-guided flight. From beginnings as a nervous child and a troubled teenager, King became an exceptional Charlie Parker-inspired artist who shone in the celebrated 1960s British big bands of John Dankworth, Tubby Hayes and Stan Tracey, worked with indie pop duo Everything But the Girl in the 80s and Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts in the 90s and 2000s, and was the only Briton invited to play at the unveiling read more...