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Praise for THE MELTDOWN "King...is
rising quickly. A fast, articulate player whose roots trace to both Bud
Powell and McCoy Tyner, he invest every track with a solid piano-based
rhythmic drive and harmonic foundation. The tunes are consistently provocative...and
filled with startling twists and turns in virtually every piece...the
album is performed with an attractive, innate feeling of musical enthusiasm." "The
Meltdown" reminds us that King is an excellent pianist and perhaps
the best of the young composers." "Pianist
and composer King defies neat classification since his eclectic stylings
open the spectral varieties of versatile expression." "The
Meltdown's nine originals and two standards are filled with lyricism,
swing and passion." "Pianist
and composer Jonny King has come up with a winning sequel to last year's
Notes From the Underground...King, heard in a larger, more percussive
setting this time out, makes the sort of logical-yet-edgy postbop you'd
expect from a brainy guy who's in touch with his feelings." "King
who just released a strong album , is a prime exponent of the experimental
mainstream in jazz. His compostions, unusual in their structure, force
improvisers to think." "Like King's two earlier CDs - "The Meltdown" features mostly well-crafted originals by the leader, who successfully melds a modern dissonant edge with compelling lyricism. Here though, the tunes are even a shade warmer...This is easily his best record..." Zan Stewart, Stereophile Praise for NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND * * * * 1/2
"One of the best rushes in jazz is when you hear a band like Jonny
King's for the first time and instantly know you have found something
truly exceptional. The fires of inner necessity illuminate both tone poems
("Soliloquy") and hard stuff ("Caffeine") alike...King's
playing is fiercely percussive, with left-hand accents that clang like
Monk's, and a right hand that rains startling clusters, all connected...
Notes From the Underground marks him as one of the strongest piano voices
of the new generation, and a bandleader who kicks ass." "King
and company manage to arrive at new and fascinating destinations. What
makes this disc even more impressive is King's piano work, which has a
mature and individualistic touch that is rarely found in players of his
age...a logical sense of melodic development and beauty." "...a
rapidly developing voice of his own as a player and composer. King's more
uncommon talent, a capacity to generate a flowing sense of swing within
a frame of lyrical melody, becomes most apparent in a trio track "Soliloquy,"
and a joyously sardonic rendering of the standard "Mean to Me." "...his
second album, Notes From the Underground, is the work of a complex, but
lucid pianist...King writes some of the best and most intriguing post-bop
tunes of musicians in his peer group, music with mood and content that
invite repeated listening." "Following
a sterling debut for Criss Cross, King has jumped ship to Enja for this
heady neobop quintet session. Having performed in Joshua Redman's quintet
, King taps the tenor/soprano saxist to front a crack rhythm section...but
make no mistake this is King's show, and his six original compositions
carry the day, unfolding in inventive yet unpredictable ways..."
"Pianist
Jonny King represents the best of what jazz has to offer in the 90s. Well-educated,
urbane and articulate, King translates his intelligence into sophisticated
and finely-wrought performances and compositions." "...the
acute instincts and the easy touch of a well-schooled natural." "He's
a thinkers' composer and pianist, a young mainstream musician whose work
is subtle and as such respected by musicians." "King
must have discovered early in life the full ramifications of the fact
that the piano is a percussion instrument, since his touch and attack
on the keys are a marvel of precision, variation and sensuality. King's
compositions are first-rate, serious jazz works." "Perfect
in performance, a fine exponent of McCoy Tyner, who also likes the bluesy
snap of Wynton Kelly's style." "Jonny
King appears to be the real thing ... there's a kind of clarity to his
lines and thinking that gives you confidence this guy will be around for
a while." "...tremendously,
talented pianist..." |