You may have noticed saxophonist Courtney Pine in the headlines this week as study of his album ‘Back In The Day’ was removed from one A Level music syllabus as part of a slimming down of subjects due to Covid 19. It was pointed out that he was the only black composer on this particular syllabus.
Few British jazz musicians have so successfully blended serious jazz chops with elements of popular music and a desire to entertain as Courtney Pine. He continues to be an inspirational figure to a younger generation of musicians as well as to the black community. We hope he’s restored to the the A Level study (perhaps with a few more black British musicians! and more jazz!) when the pandemic is over.
Here’s Courtney playing a blistering live performance with a band that included DJ Pogo on decks – possibly the first time anyone had included turntables as an improvisating jazz instrument in live performance.