Peter King Quartet - Janus [CD]

The British alto saxophonist Peter King's playing was firmly rooted in the bebop idiom and he was recognised as one of the UK's leading jazz musicians. He was also a masterful composer and on 'Janus', King takes on the challenge of writing for jazz and string quartet. <p>'Janus' features the Peter King Quartet with Gordon Beck on piano and the Lyric String Quartet, recorded live at the Purcell Room in 1997. The Janus suite applies the influences of Bartok's rhythms, folk melodies and harmonies to jazz composition and the Lyric String quartet plays superbly both in their solo sections and during the passages when they are scored with the jazz group. King's rhythmic writing means that the strings add texture and line without interfering with the improvisations of the rhythm section and soloists. <p>In addition to the five movements of Janus, the album is completed with three originals, featuring the musicians of King's quartet without the strings, and which demonstrate what a superbly integrated group it is. Alan Barnes in his liner notes sums up the album when he says "this recording is surely Peter King's masterpiece." <p>Peter King: alto & soprano saxophone <br>Gordon Beck: piano <br>Jeremy Brown: bass <br>Stephen Keogh: drums <p>Lyric String Quartet: Patricia Calnan, Harriet Davies: violin, Nick Barr: viola, Dave Daniels: cello.