Courtney Pine Awarded CBE In New Year’s Honours List

A tireless ambassador for the music in the UK and beyond, Courtney this year gigged with a new version of the Jazz Warriors and released a well-received album Afropeans, in part his own reflection on the bicentenary of the abolition of slavery in the former British Empire. He has also dedicated much time and effort to his own record label Destin-e, which released the debut album by the critically acclaimed band Empirical. In February Courtney releases a new album, Transition in Tradition, a homage to saxophone pioneer Sidney Bechet and returns to his busy touring programme which includes a gig at Ronnie Scott’s. On receiving news of his CBE Courtney said in a statement: “I am deeply moved to be honoured. I never imagined that I would be recognised for playing improvised music in the United Kingdom in this way. The acknowledgement for what I think of as a noble mission in uniting people through sound could not have been realised without the love, support and dedication of my family, management, band and the many supporters of music throughout this land. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”