COMPOSERS: Courtney Pine
LABELS: Talkin' Loud
WORKS: Modern Day Jazz Stories
PERFORMER: Courtney Pine (ss, ts, fl); Geri Allen (p); Charnette Moffett (b); Ronnie Burrage (d); DJ Pogo (turntables)
CATALOGUE NO: 529 028-2 (distr. Polygram)
In the Eighties, in Europe at least, Pine was held up as the torch-bearer for modern jazz. Since then it has been whispered that he has wasted his passionate technique on music that is (gasp!) commercial. So those who decried his recent work in reggae had better steer clear of this latest odyssey. Here Pine applies his plangent post-Coltrane cry against a scratch background: call it hip-bop. Actually, the combination of this combative quartet and Pine’s moving music would succeed without the DJ’s squiggles – but through an imaginative use of programming and overdubs, the young Londoner has produced a fresh and relevant take on improvised jazz. Garry Booth
Courtney Pine
In the Eighties, in Europe at least, Pine was held up as the torch-bearer for modern jazz. Since then it has been whispered that he has wasted his passionate technique on music that is (gasp!) commercial. So those who decried his recent work in reggae had better steer clear of this latest odyssey. Here Pine applies his plangent post-Coltrane cry against a scratch background: call it hip-bop.
Our rating
4
Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:08 pm