Courtney Pine

Courtney Pine began his musical odyssey by learning the clarinet in school. He soon moved on to the instrument that he has become most associated with, the saxophone. At the age of 23 he released his first album Journey to the Urge Within. It shot up the music charts and went silver, an unprecedented debut. A year later, his follow-up record Destiny’s Song confirmed Pine as a leading figure in the British jazz scene.

In 1989, the composer crossed the Atlantic to record The Vision’s Tale, an album that was again produced by Delfeayo Marsalis. In 1990, Pine decided to explore his personal and musical origins by going to Jamaica to record Closer to Home. Imbued by reggae rhythms, this fourth album was directed by Gussie Clarke and released on the Island Records Mango label. It reached number 14 in the American Billboard charts in 1992.

After a couple more record releases for Island Records, Pine moved to PolyGram to record his seventh record Modern Day Jazz Stories. This 1996 release included a collaboration with singer Cassandra Wilson and it received widespread critical praise. It was one of the reasons that Pine won two MOBO (Music Of Black Origin) Awards in England for “Best Jazz Act” (1996-97). His 2000 release Back in the Day was marked by the stunning vocals of Beverley Knight, Lynden David Hall and Kele Le Roc.

Pine’s own voice came to prominence around that period. Not as a singer but a presenter and TV broadcaster. Pine’s engagement at the side of musicians less fortunate than him also came to the fore thanks to films like his documentary on South African artists whose lives had been destroyed by the apartheid regime. More recently, the 43-year-old composed and performed the soundtrack for a landmark BBC documentary “Mandela – A Living Legend”, underlying his long-term engagement with the Rainbow Nation. Pine has also been involved in workshop tours and an educational film for children. In 2000 he was awarded a British OBE for his contribution to jazz music and his country’s Black community.

September 2007

Daniel Brown