Nat Steele's "Sonny Rollins and the Modern Jazz Quartet" at Peggy's Skylight

About

Sunday 9 February 2020 | 6pm - 8pm

Peggy's Skylight

General Admission £8, Dining £10 - £12

Seated dining from 5pm
Performance starts at 6pm
Serving Mediterranean & Middle Eastern Meze

"...easily one of the top gigs of the London Jazz Festival 2018" - Joanne Shurvell, Forbes Magazine

Nat Steele's "Sonny Rollins and the Modern Jazz Quartet" UK tour features US tenor saxophone giant Grant Stewart alongside his MJQ quartet in the role of Rollins, playing homage to the classic 1956 Prestige album of the same name.

The MJQ gained attention for bringing jazz out of the club and into the concert hall in the 1950s, and for being an early pioneer of the "third stream" fusion, combining classical compositional techniques with jazz improvisation. It featured the contrasting talents of its musical director and pianist, John Lewis, who played with an understated control, with the fiery, boppish stylings of vibes pioneer Milt Jackson.

Grant Stewart has won the prestigious Downbeat Magazine award 8 years in a row, and is on record as being one of Jimmy Cobb's (drummer with Miles Davis, Kind of Blue) favourite tenor players. He has released 16 albums as leader, as well as playing and touring regularly all over the States, Canada, Asia and Europe.

"Grant is one of the most innovative musicians still carrying on the tradition of jazz, which encompasses bebop, swing and a little avant garde" - Lou Donaldson

"one of the brightest, most gifted players I've heard and had on my bandstand. He can only do good-he's got a long, brilliant career ahead of him" - George Coleman

"Be prepared to hear from this young man. I think he's going to be one of the big boys – he IS already one of the big boys – and you'll hear a lot of beautiful playing from him. Grant is what we call in the trade a 'sleeper.' A fantastic player, but not too many people know about him – yet! Once they do hear him they say, "WHOA!" – and that's what I said when I did a recording with him. (And what I have to say to Grant is, "Keep on, keep on playing!")" - Clark Terry

"One of my favorite tenor players in the world!" - Jimmy Cobb

Steele's recently released debut quartet album "Portrait of the MJQ" received rave reviews in the jazz and national press, including 5 stars in BBC Music Magazine ("Jazz Choice" of the month), 4* in the Observer, and 4* in JazzJournal and JazzWise magazines

The lineup is:
Grant Stewart, tenor sax
Nat Steele, vibes
Gabriel Latchin, piano
Dario di Lecce, bass
Steve Brown, drums

Expect swinging bebop and straight-ahead jazz from this world-class quintet