Courtney Pine - Dancing To A Rebel Beat
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Irrepressible energy and inexhaustible curiosity have been the hallmarks of Brit-Jazz multi- reeds master Courtney Pine’s recent albums and his latest, House Of Legends, is no exception.
Exclusively using his custom made silver soprano sax, and emphatically marking the 50th anniversary of Jamaican independence with a soca and ska-fuelled set dedicated to his Caribbean forebears, Pine tells Alyn Shipton about his hopes to inspire a new generation of jazz rebels.
On his last album, Europa, in 2011, Courtney Pine channelled all his energy into the bass clarinet. Both on the record and hearing the music live in concert, you got the sense that he was testing what could be done with the instrument at every level. This included increasing its range from stomach-wrenching basso profundo to bat squeak, and finding tonalities that could caress or confront with equal effectiveness.
Now, however, on House of Legends, his new album released this month, Courtney has devoted himself entirely to what many reed players regard as the most demanding instrument of all, the soprano saxophone. In a shimmering, extrovert Caribbean setting, the horn skirls and swirls through a variety of textures and tests that, if anything, are even tougher than those he set himself for the bass clarinet. But he’s happy to raise his game to achieve some of the most accomplished playing of his career.
This is an extract from Jazzwise Issue #168 – to read the full article click here to subscribe and receive a FREE CD...