Peter KING plays the GRAFTON sax of CHARLIE PARKER

[austin642]

Pete is fantastic as usual.

Living in the provinces I didn't often get to hear the London musicians but I was fortunate enough to hear Pete on 3 occasions in Brighouse ,Wakefield and Bradford. Three great nights!

[normansandey]

In the early 1950's the johnny Dankworth Seven came to Plymouth. I met Johnny when he demonstrated a plastic saxaphone in a room under a barbers shop.

Gould he be the Englishman who gave it to charlie Parker?

[maxfurey]

All musicians use notation and charts, i guarantee if the omnibook is there in front of him, he has put it there himself even if only for the chords of the tune. Don't be fooled. Professional players do not all have photographic memories and it in no way diminishes his skills, which are phenomenal. Hats off to Peter King.

[fragman08]

@maxfurey Although by no counts am I on any level near many jazz musicians, by implication I am not a musician by your standards, because I imrpov only. I don't think that's fair.

[Dreamer8girl]

Hi, RAM

Great! Great!

Thanks!

Congrats!

[gameboy595]

so damn smooth

[Andrewhead666]

I'm surprised the thing isn't in pieces by the end of this.

[MrDaveythewavey19]

it's really the mouthpiece...it's simple physics; all the body of the sax does is act as a control for the air column. tone does not come from the body,

[luvmyrecords]

Mistakes abound in the Omnibook, too!

[ferrysax]

he's good.......

[TripleOctaveMusic]

It's not the sax it's the player

[mrhitmanisback]

when are ppl gonna realise it the player not the horn look at the crap players on you tube on expensive horns proves my point

[lmsypj]

peter king. more people should know about him. amazing!

i saw him play at the san remo jazz festival in italy

[lpsling]

Hey decus69, those guys you mention are mostly smooth jazz, instrumental pop music saxophonists. Only Kenny Garret and Chas McPherson should be mentioned in the same breath or compared to Pete King or God knows, Charlie Parker. Nothing wrong with your guys..it's just a different, vastly easier to play, kind of r&b based music they record. Bird was a great genuis and Peter King is maby the best bebop alto player alive. Bebop is a very difficult form to master...you have to know advanced harmony

[lpsling]

When Bird went to Canada to play the Massey Hall concert, for some reason they would not let take his horn in, so they bought this Grafton for him right before the concert, They were only $150 or something. Bird liked it and recorded some more on it. It is now in the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City at 18th and Vine St. It went for $350,000. They are great sounding horns and Peter King, and later Jackie Mclean, in KC played the smash out of it. Wish they would make one out of 2010 acrylics

[TheJazz2002]

is that parkers ACTUAL horn?

like, the one actually played?! :o

[KSTsonic]

@TheJazz2002 As far as I know, he used this horn for a concert at Massey Hall after pawning his normal alto.

[groovetonemusic]

Pete King is superb! That Grafton was starting to melt under Pete's hot playing...

[Henrypost145]

this guy is amazing and i want that sax

[toastybread14]

peter king is IMO best player alive

[WORLDOFZOURNA]

Grafton sax made from plastic didn't it?

[SuperflyFunkyBunny]

Lover Man is not Written by Charlie Parker,hence not in the Omnibook.

[rtblues]

The crowd seem like rich folk there to be seen. Unfortunately, they are heard a little too much, during Mr. King's great playing. Pearls before Swine!

Long live Bird, Great blowing by Peter King!

[wladelis]

It's brilliant!!!!!!!!

[avril2]

Peter King played on the opening night at Ronnie Scott's in 1959.

He is probably the best jazz alto player in the world.

[davedelic1]

You see in the Omnibook,lover mans not there.Was it called another name or what?

[Girolata]

How much did it sell for?

[archlordXd0]

Graftons have such a unique timbre, I just love it xD

[ibxboxfan1]

i wonder if the reed is plasctic

[megagage]

...no

[mrhitmanisback]

pete king amazing bopper

[Davesax1965]

Never heard of him before. Damn good sax player. He'd probably sound somewhat better using Charlie Parkers' Conn 6M. ;-)

[mrhitmanisback]

the guys a legend in the uk played with likes of tub hayes ron scott ect if you aint heard of him you cant no your alto players well

[Davesax1965]

I'm not into modern jazzers, surprisingly......

[mrhitmanisback]

hes not a modern jazzer check him on google he played with ronnie scott tubby hayes ect and is a diciple of parker ,,you need to check your history cos these guys were around on the uk scene with ben webster dexter ect same goes for ppl like bobby wellings who played with stan tracy ,just cos they aint yanks dont mean they arnt any good

[Davesax1965]

Yep, still never heard of him. Believe it or not, it's possible...... I'm peripherally into jazz. I'm much more into blues.

[Morahman7vnNo2]

Times like this make me proud to own a not so high end Monique Trumpet.

[fagnolonger]

There use to be a video of Peter King playing Lush Life, what ever happened to that video?

[nyshoefly]

Charlie Parker could have played the crappiest student horn and made it sing.

[MrAlfredocolon]

@nyshoefly the salesman at the music store i go knew charlie and told me how he bought a rusty old silver horn and didnt get it fixed or anything just cus he loved the high register so much. he told me cus he said that the horn i bought there reminded him of those days

[nyshoefly]

oh cool man! ya must have been something to here charlie play a crap horn. I heard he could play the hardest reeds known to man too.

[rogelito]

@nyshoefly ...and he frequently did!

[avril2]

@nyshoefly

Indeed, you've just witnessed the mighty Peter King do it too.

[xtobiex]

bludy hell hes gunnin it abit isnt he. I was just serching to look at this fasinating saxophone but what a great saxophonist.

[Davesax1965]

Unfortunately, Graftons are horrendous. Played on. They have COIL springs, and if anything goes wrong with one, they go wrong in a big way.

[drumstyx6464]

@Davesax1965 coil springs?? jeez how does that work

[garibo17]

este wey es una pinche chingonada.....!!!!

[MangoFruito]

id love to play it like tha... and like this and that and..ouch its good

[cccustard]

The greatest living alto player.

[decus69]

David Sanborn

Kirk Whalum Phil Woods

Kenny Garret

Eric Marienthal

Gerald Albright

Charles McPherson

Rosario Guiliani

[cccustard]

Get a grip. I really don't see how a list of past New York City mayoral contestants can have any bearing on this. After all, none of them was asked to play Charlie's horn, and I doubt any of them could hold a candle to Kingy apart from perhaps where it comes to city refuse.

[decus69]

If that is in regards to the names I put up "you need to get a grip." Pete king is on King in name. A few of the names I put up would blow him outta the scene. Is that why his records are so hard to find or is it that he can only play Charlie Parker's immediate songs quite well? Get a reality check stupid!!

[rogerb40uk]

I recall seeing a new Grafton in a music shop when I was in my teens, and thinking how horrible it looked.

But Parker could play a coke can....and so, it seems, can King!

[me007963]

I totally agree with the coke can comment but I ve always thought the graftons look wicked! I love the colour and its just so 50s! I was able to play one once and they such fun to play, they have got a really different sound and it feels kinda odd but they are just so much fun and they draw quite a bit of attention as well. Id love to get one some time!

[tenorsax120]

The grafton sax came about during the world wars. Since metal was being used for in the war. Grafton decided to make a "less espensive sax out of plastic" they sounded nice but broke down often and no one wanted to do repair on them if they cracked.

[cb550k3]

I'm gonna see this mother tomorrow night!!

[Musicmanjt12]

what's the name of the first song he played and is it in the omnibook

[SaxoRamirez]

Parkers Mood,

and fortunately,

HELL YEAH IT IS!!!!

[ecapital46]

Excellent post. I came across this guy on a Charlie Parker with Strings tribute concert Cd he did with Charlie Watts group at Ronnie Scott's in 1991 I believe. Its about the best Bird with strings I've heard that didn't include Bird himself. I highly recommend it to fellow Ornithologists.

[stillavril]

Yeah, they toured with it too.

I saw them at a theatre in the West End.

Good gig, a bit of a theatrical production(of course) but very good.

Not forgetting Gerard Presencer and Dave Green!

[stillavril]

It's Peter King, for goodness sake!

[haxel75]

Wonderful to see and hear a Grafton played by such a talented musician.

[Refrence54]

amazing playing.

is he playing a plastic sax?

[GoFuckAHorseCunt]

Yes. Bird used to take his horns to the pawn shop for heroin money, so they gave him a valueless plastic one so he could just play the gig. Check out the book 'Bird Lives'

[ecapital46]

Your point here is well taken, but Ross Russell's 'Bird Lives' is not the best reference on Bird. I've read it, and several accounts therein have been disputed by musicians and others who would know, among them, WKCR's Phil Schaap, who has probably done more research regarding Charlie Parker than anyone alive today. For accurate Charlie Parker anecdotes, I would recommend Dizzy Gillespie's autobiography 'To Be or Not To Bop' or Gary Giddin's 'Celebrating Bird' over Ross Russell's 'Bird Lives.'

[aerslife]

it seems odd for someone to accuse him to be reading from the Omnibook. i would hope they would have actually seen the solo in book, or listened to bird's solo, to realize it's different.

[marxengels16]

Yeah, I have personally learned to play this solo, and I can guarantee that he is improvising. Peter King is a legend

[trumpetharmonica]

Pete King real. hang in there, Great video for a jazzfan!

5* it is, for shure!

[jim6929]

and it's still got its price tag!!! I wonder how much it says?

[STILLAVRIL1]

As Red Rodney said about the gig where Parker was given that horn to play.

'Bird could have played a tomato can'.

So can Peter King!

[washtubbass]

amazing !

[c4rv3r]

Otherwise it's absolutely brilliant playing of course...:D

[pouzarot]

Of course he's not reading. His eyes are closed.

Seriously, Peter has been doing all this for years and does not need dots, even though he is capable of reading fly droppings on toilet paper, as was Charly Parker.

Wonderful.

[sprayberrybog]

i think parker has a better sond on the grafton but barely

[sprayberrybog]

he should have played a song from massey hall

[Isaxman]

I like peter king's "Lush Life"

[monterivero]

hes obviously reading from the omnibook because he is trying to prove that the saxophone still has the exacct same capabilities it did with bird. Listen to some other Pete King and you'll be able to see that he can play some great stuff. He's not my fave but he is a very good player.

[dslide13]

i guarantee he is not reading from the omnibook. peter king knows the "language" of bebop. he is a musician, not a college student. he learned to play by listening and playing, not by studying scales and patterns as one might do in school. the omnibook is for those unwilling to do the hard work of imitation through trial and error. his mastery of the language is worthy of appreciation and recognition.

[howlowcanyoublow]

Pete King reading from an omnibook....haha!! Pete king is a monster. He's probably never seen the omnibook. He knows Bird from 50 years of study not trying to read his solos out of a book.

[welshhero88]

lol

[ArthurDeBisu]

Dios mio! it's the Grafton Plastic Saxo!!! rare horn, nice sound

[selmersax55]

Charlie Parker is much better.

Why did this guy buy his sax?

[GenericGene]

Peter King with luLu on Cry Me a River - Just Perfect.

[lordpatty]

what am I missing here ? who or what is lulu ?

where is cry me a river ? one would assume g.g.

knows about specificity & relevance ?

[Anndyane]

Wow, this is so good!

[nedmanxxx]

takes a whole lot more than omni books and shit...and pk has it all...it's a language man...and pk speaks it with panache...the cat can really sub-divide...there's much rhythmic drive right there for yer ears to hear...he ain't no kinda slouch no kinda way

[checkster12]

This horn is in a museum in K.C. It really does look like crap. Its amazing that he can make such a good sound from it.

[trumpetharmonica]

Fantstic playing by King, after Parker he is King himself!

Great on this historic saxophone!

[nateo5]

this video proves that music is made by humans, not instruments, this guy can play a piece of plastic better than most pros play mark VI's

[vegas2kc]

The sound of Kansas City Missouri.

~bird lives~

[Mamasan41]

WHO bought this instrument???

[OpulentPeasant]

kylegee:the yellow cover and the black plastic binding are unmistakable

[nateo5]

yea, and you can see that brown picture of bird on the back

[flyagaric23]

Grafton and King swing,

See the tag'swinging off the sax too, haha..

Great....

[xxXLodu91Xxx]

this performance is very beatiful ,

by saxophonist91 from naples

[gazzy11296]

wow

[betterthancoltrane]

i would do anything to play on one of parkers instruments.

[mintrecordsuk]

I've seen Pete enough times to know that he can run 'cutting edge' jazz with as much Gazuze as any youngbloods. Come on dudes, lets play nicely huh? It aint nothing to fall out about.

[mintrecordsuk]

Wow, it's good to see that the Bird is still causing arguments! Haha. I learnt to play on one of those old plastic saxes and they weren't that great. Even CP didn't care for it too much. Pete's an old mate too, and as one of the writers below said, he was simply demonstrating this significant instrument for the sake of the media by attempting to perform some authentic licks of it's time. It wasn't a gig.

[Isaxman]

Nice, but Charlie Parker is a million times better.

[Bleach4canada]

you're not one to talk. Parker was a genious, an innovator. He might have been better but look what happened to him.

[Isaxman]

Congratulations, sir, you have searched the Youtube comments all the way back to over a year ago in order to find one to comment on.

Eh. Whatever, we need lives.

Anyway, do you know how Peter King got to play the Grafton? (Simply wondering how)

[kylegeee]

anyone else see that he has an omni-book right in front of him? haha

[farese1]

Ohh GOOD! First time that i can see a video of the famous Grafton plastic:-)!

[leeromell]

i would say that this guy is not someone to look at as, " kool "

i mean sure, he can ripp really nicely on the sax

but its a shame and travisty that his fucked up ass lips ever touched charlie parker's saxophone'

charlie was the man, and this guy is not ever going to be ambe to come any were near close to parkers talents.

[benmallinder]

dude its a horn at the end of the day... its not as if its the holy grail to us saxophonists... its a horn.. imagine all of those those fucked up lips that touched all of birds other pawned horns... just my opinion thats all...

[nateo5]

wow, this is just like when Phil Woods messed around with Parkers wife after he died, and he inherited some of charlies saxes, and people didnt like that either, but Woods says, "there just metal to me, they arent like, spirits, just metal."

[daalsij]

YESSS!!!

[Andrezzz122]

this guy rips yo

[KARLERIKAN]

KIng sounds much like Parker. Who bought this Grafton sax, anybody knows ? /KE

[notyouz]

It's at the jazz museum in Kansas City.

[danilopilz]

Peter King's no moldy fig, he can play.

[killaH312]

this guy is a fucking beast. I WANNA PLAY LIKE THAT!

[protocol66]

just search for Peter King and "Lush Life" here i YouTube and you will see a wonderful example of alto playing from this man. Worth the time... worth the listen.

[protocol66]

I think the main goal at this showing was to display the horn in the idiom fitting the auction item. This is the horn played on one of the most important recordings in jazz history, or at least in the bebop world. He does a great job of remaining true to the bebop realm. It wouldn't be right if he launched into Coltrane, Dolphy or whomever else at this particular gig.

[bso222]

Simply amazing.

[Saxophonic]

and another thing you have never seen this guy live, or seen his own compositions, when you have written your own composition, have your own record company and album and are endorsed by yanagsiwana then come back

[protocol66]

I wouldn't call an endorsement from yani as anything to be incredibly excited about. Yamaha or Selmer, sure. Yanigasawa... ::yawn::

[peppersax]

This man plays with alot of soul. Unlike many players today who sound very wooden.

[Saxophonic]

carry on idiot, if you had such a cool musicians life why are you commenting 4 times on a video on youtube, sad loser, go get a life and recognise talent, if you really want to have a good argument learn about this guy, he doesnt just pull of charlie parker licks, he can do coltrane vocabulary and even composes for opera, he is a all round great musician

[saxpete]

fxxk off for those who think Peter King is not good enough.

search for his other vids or buy a CD or two from him...you shall suck yourself up

he has the most flawless skills and techniques...

[jumpsteady1]

so at the risk of representing a country, why are you taking what people say and instead of logically dissagreeing, blaming an entire race! just realize that this guy is sick, and there are sick musicians everywhere. Music is a human thing, not a british or american thing. everyone needs to get over themselves, stop trash talking countries, and fucking enjoy this awesome stuff

[elvengirl]

This guy is an awesome player and you people obliously have no idea what makes a professional musician stand apart from an amateur.

[kryzderjedi]

I've watched this Video years ago, even before youtube was in everybodies mouth.

And a few months ago there was this lick in my head (=>I'm not tooo good^^)´. I recognized, that is was the first thing he is playing here, searched for the vid, and had great fun watching it... lol^^

[Saxophonic]

chameleon, you really dont know what your talking about, peter king is one of the great british jazz technicians of the saxophone, yes america did contribute jazz to world (as well as the bombing of 30 different coutrys, the nuclear bomb, and pollution) but you really need to do your research about him before you slag him off.

[chameleoneyz221]

Ok, look - I'm seriously not responding to any more of this, especially from some cats with what is apparently a cursory knowledge of jazz. The main reason, though, is becase everytime I do, it forces me to listed to this COLD regurgitation of the Charlie Parker omnibook. It has so little to do with jazz and creating.

[Fank234]

@chameleoneyz221 Ignorant pratt. Learn some facts about Jazz. PK is known worldwide as being one of the best alto players alive

[chameleoneyz221]

Now instead of really examining some music, you get caught up in your national pride. Silly. You want to hack my country, go ahead. I recognize jealousy. I play w/ Lincoln Center, was on the road with Buddy Rich, have two albums out. Quite being a fucking child and come with a real argument. Some of you are being absolute idiots and I'm seeing stf like "Great British...." and "Technician". Nobody's talking music.

[chameleoneyz221]

I'm seeing all this stupid nationalistic pride & talk like "great British" & "technician". Nobody's talking about playing music and the communication that jazz IS.

[chameleoneyz221]

So, while you are jerking off in an hour, I'll be out on tour with Wynton. Suck it. You're arrogant and ignorant. Learn something about this incredible art form. Pride is a most useless asset. I'm not responding anymore b'cause I can't stand hearing this cat again. Truly. Happy fucking off

[intrepidpooch]

I'm just curious who your are chameleon, you tour with Wynton and Lincoln Center and have 2 records out, I'm definitely familiar with all the musicians in the band as my friend Randall used to play with them too, what's your name?

[Hurtle07]

Funny -reading through all your hogwash on this video and noticing all the negative numbers beside them--painfully obvious to many people that you are a complete dickhead---whilst on tour with wynton-take your horn and shove it up your ass-it'll probably sound better you tosser.

[chameleoneyz221]

Nothing sadder than a cat that has aquired some skills but has forgotten about the essence of jazz and just stands up coldly regurgitating all his bop shit out of the omnibook and doesn't even deal with the cats he has around him. geeze.

[dphillips180102]

wtf are you talking about. pete has forgotten more about jazz than you will ever know. he is also my grandad and nicest guy you will ever meet.

[chameleoneyz221]

First of all, I didn't say anything bad about his character. Unlike you, I'm not stupid enough to make such presumptions. What I said has nothing to do with who his family members are, etc. Secondly, you have no idea who I am. So again, ignorant presumptions regarding what I "will ever know". You're an ignorant person. I shouldn't be suprised. Get a life and maybe some skills, stupid ass. You're blocked.

[dphillips180102]

typical american, never wrong are you. pete was aked by charlies widow, chan, to play the sax before the auction when we visited her in france. this wasnt a proper performance, bouncing off the rest of the guys in the band, he was just playing the sax for the press. why so negative ? i am not an ignorant person, just amazed at how someone can slag off a guy with incredible talent. you are right about one thing though, i have no idea who you are. but you sound like a right twat.

[chameleoneyz221]

No, you're not ignorant. You just used an opportuity to nail Americans, though. Nice move, you ignorant, no punctuating limey fuck. Typical stiff upper lipped wanna-be blue blood. I made a comment that.... oh never mind. I'm apparently dealing with a musical wanna be. Go have a crumpet and kiss my ass. Typical arrogance from the UGAY

[chameleoneyz221]

Ok, I'll entertain your stupidity just once more, because every time I come here, I'm forced to listen again. Do you even know what an Omnibook is? Apparently not because there's one RIGHT THERE ON HIS STAND. And the rest of the time that he's not face deep in the book, he's completely ignoring a killin' rhythm section. But I guess a nationalist fuck like you'd say it's because they're Americans. I'm through with you, you ignorant ass. You're like the other 50% I met touring there. Bye, ass.

[dphillips180102]

touched a raw one there i think. ha ha. UGAY ? no punctuating limey fuck ? fantastic . i was going to offer the old olive branch this time but fuck it. ill go and have a crumpet ( and a nice cup of tea ) if you want to go and have your 700th donut of the day you big fat bastard.

[Fank234]

@chameleoneyz221 Temper,temper now! But seriously, 4 years later and you should realise that this guy is a fantastic player. He is recognised both here and in the US as being so. You are of course entitled to your opinion, but when it is steeped in inacuracies and ignorance I do have to comment. Love and kisses..........!

[ziggyyZ]

Are you blaming those kids for Hurricane Katrina? That doesn't sound very fair to me and an ignorance of climatic systems to boot!

[killaH312]

that couldve been the dumbest shit ive ever heard. Really? blown away by kids? unless New Orleans has the highest population of mentally handicapped/savants i doubt it

[saxofonico]

Just Great!!!

The cd "From one Charlie" whit Charlie Wats, is wondeful... the sound is amazing...

[romanrec]

The best show on youtube so far!

[antosax]

assolutamente strepitoso da grande parkeriano apprezzo e sottoscrivo

[twinsax]

Great technique!!

[vidimah]

good start of the day ****stars

[Mamasan41]

Mercy!!!  Thank you!!!

[Radjammin]

It's kinda misleading, I doubt the 90,000 owner will sound anything like him. Some equipment is worth it, that Grafton is not.

[streetsaxman]

Peter King is THE GUV'NOR.

[anchorace]

Unreal...I have a Grafton, given to me 33 years ago, and could never make sound like that. This guy was just getting warmed up. Didn't that sax sell for something like 90,000 or something silly like that?

[becarelli]

simply amazing