01:05:09 Going Out 3
tall as one of UK’s jazz greats
decade, it went onto to pick up a string ofawards.
Since then Pine has continued to dabble withother genres. After starting his career as areggae player, most notably working withClint Eastwood and General Saint.
His first take on his upbringing came in his1990 reggae-infused album Closer To Home,recorded in Jamaica with a cast of topCaribbean musicians.
“My parents are from Jamaica and its thekind of music I grew up with,” saysCourtney. “Ever since I can remember theywould be playing records by people likeJimmy Cliff – but I preferred the b-sides onthe records where there were solos, I didn’trealise they were jazz musicians – these arethe guys that created blue-beat and ska androck-steady.”
Since then Pine’s sound has been a constantevolution, utilising musicians and stylesfrom across the globe, and combiningeverything from hip-hop samples to sitars onrecords still filed under the ‘jazz’ section.
“For me it’s development,” he says. “I don’tsee it as changing, I have things I’d like tofulfil. I have a lot of projects I’d like to do andsometimes the opportunity or the budget isthere – for me it’s still a case of ticking all theboxes. I’d love to do a ballads album. I’d loveto do Brazilian music. As s a musician I havetravelled and experienced the world and Iwant to bring those experiences into myrecords and life and just be true to myself.I’m not just being different to be different –as my life changes so does my music.”
One of his most renowned – and criticallymauled – crossovers is his drum and bass-infused work, first employed on 1995’sgroundbreaking New Jazz Stories – whichwas shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize– and used more extensively on follow upUnderground. A remix album of materialfrom the two albums by big names like RoniSize, Another Story, followed – virtuallyunheard of for a jazz artist.
“I like the music and I’m really proud itcame from this country and ourexperiences,” he explains. “At first I wasplaying acoustic jazz standards and it got tothe point where I was bored, and theaudience were bored too – it was saxophonesolo, piano solo, bass solo – and I would goback to the hotel and listen to 4 Hero andRoni Size and I just wanted to play it. I’d playa gig and be bored and go back to the hoteland listen to jungle records and get excited.And there was no Coltrane or Charlie Parkerto refer to – it was new territory. The jazzersdidn’t like me anyway.”
But despite a receiving a critical mauling atsemi-regular intervals from the snobbish jazzpress, the American jazz aristocracy havewelcomed Pine with open arms, with legendArt Blakey inviting Pine to join the JazzMessengers early in his career – widely seenas the ultimate apprenticeship. Previoushorn greats to pass through the ranksinclude Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard,Lee Morgan, Wynton Marsalis and HankMobley.
Pine’s love of the saxophone is something
that came early – and that he was prepared tofight for.
“It’s a funny story,” he remembers. “I wentto a school in a city and I always wanted toplay saxophone but there were only two inthe school and the bigger boys had them. Theteacher said if I wanted to play I had to playclarinet first – I didn’t want to but I would doanything and I was playing clarinet for a yearjust waiting for the sax player to mess up.”
Pine’s commercial success has also beenechoed by a respect by the establishment –becoming the first jazz musician to beawarded an OBE in 2000 – an honour that waspromoted to a CBE in this year’s News YearsHonour list.
He added: “It’s really bizarre because I’m asaxophone player and to be recognised by theQueen was not in the job description at all.
“I thought they were having a laugh, I’mstill in shock. I thought about all themusicians who came to the UK and tried toplay jazz music and were never recognised.
“When I met Her Majesty she said ‘dopeople still listen to jazz?’ – well I amstanding proof they do.
“I am in my forties now and there’smusicians who are 21 and just embarking ontheir careers who are trying to get out there –so I’m pretty positive it’s still going strong inthe UK.”t Courtney Pine’s Jazz Warriors play the TheatreRoyal on May 13, £5-£25, 01603 766400,www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.ukt Further listening:www.myspace.com/courtneypineuk
Late Minute Tickets Tickets have already sold-out for a number ofNorfolk & Norwich Festival events, while othershows close to capacity.
Shows by jazz star Andy Sheppard, violinistNicola Benedetti, the Philharmonia orchestra andfestival favourites the Tallis Scholars are amongthose already sold out, while only a handful oftickets remain for big name shows such as PhilipGlass, the world premieres by composer JonathanDove with the Festival Chorus and jazz sensationGwilym Simcock and the debut of RetropectEnsemble.
“Naturally we’re thrilled that so many events areselling fast,” said artistic director JonathanHolloway. “But we want to reassure festival-goersthat if they haven’t got their tickets yet, it’s not toolate. If you’ve missed the Benedetti Trio, thencome along to hear some sublime sounds fromIlya Gingolts at Norwich Playhouse; if you werehoping catch Andy Sheppard, then come to StPeter Mancroft setting and hear hauntinglybeautiful music by jazz legend, Tomasz Stanko.
“What I find each year is that our audiences trustus enough to take a chance and try somethingcompletely new. And the great thing is that thereis a really strong free festival programme againthis year, so even if you haven’t got a ticket youcan come along and enjoy the experience!”t Ticket hotline: 01603 766400,www.nnfestival.org.uk.
Festival-Going On A ShoestringIf you’re strapped for cash but still fancy gettinginto the festival spirit, here is a handy guide tomaking the most of Norfolk & Norwich Festivalwithout spending a fortune. t TThhee MMGG FFrreeee EEvveennttss — May Gurney havesponsored three massive events this year. They’rebig, their explosive and they are completely andutterly free. Ulik & Le SNOB — the incrediblegliding, flaming street band from France, performoutside the Forum tonight at 5.30pm and 10.15pm.Commandos Percu, Bombs Per Minute, apyrotechnic extravaganza, is staged at EarlhamPark at 10.15pm tomorrow. And The Garden Party— two days of circus, theatre, music, dance andaerialists from all over the world, takes place inChapelfield Gardens on May 10-11, 11am– 5pm. t BBee uunnddeerr--2266 — There are £5 tickets allocatedfor every show. And they’re not the rubbish seatseither; they’re some of the best seats in thehouse. And all you have to do to get your handson them is to make sure you book your tickets inadvance… oh, and make sure you’re under theage of 26. t PPrriivvaattee VViieeww ffoorr CChhiillddrreenn — Mary Newcomb’sexhibition, Fire, Earth, Water, Air will have a specialprivate view that’s just for children with Spin OffTheatre Company on May 9, between 11am and2pm at Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery(booking essential on 01603 495897)t SSppiieeggeelltteenntt EEaarrllyy BBiirrddss — For five nights theSpiegel Lates programme in the Salon PerduSpiegeltent in Chapelfield Gardens will cost younot a penny to get in. That’s right. Groove ondown to a host of music and cabaret by thecelebrated Bo Nanafana crew for absolutelynothing. But make sure you get there early asspace is limited. Spiegel Lates will be on May 10-14 and 16. t Check www.nnfestival.org.uk for last minutespecial offers.
2 Going Out 01:05:09
Pine standingCourtney Pine is widely seen as themost significant jazz musician tocome from the UK for decades, andwill be bringing his Jazz Warriors tothe city as one of the highlights ofthis year’s festival. RROOBB GGAARRRRAATTTTspoke to the legend. To Courtney Pine, being a musician doesn’tend with playing music.
His current project the Jazz Warriors is notjust a band – it is a community project formedin 2007 to mark the 200th anniversary of theabolition of slavery.
Designed to be a platform for young andrising Afro-Caribbean stars, the 14-piece bigband has an evolving door of young talent – tothe extent that Pine is unsure of exactly whowill be playing the gig at the Theatre Royalnext week.
Ironically, the Jazz Warriors were first puttogether by Pine in the mid-80s because he“couldn’t get any work.”
Now though, they are a celebration of race,freedom, and a forceful celebration of Blackculture and expression. “The bicentenaryAbolition of the Slave Trade Act was such asignificant event to people from the samebackground as me,” says Pine.
The early Warriors fell apart as Pine’s ownsolo career was taking off. His debut album,1987’s Journey to the Urge Within, becamethe first serious UK jazz album tochart in the Top 40 and the bestselling jazz album to ever comeout of the UK. It threw the dustyold genre into the limelight andmade it cool and relevant againby opening up the groove andmixing in elements of funk andsoul.
“It was just unheard of,”admits Pine. “It opened upa lot of people whowanted to play jazzto a wideraudience. A lot ofpeople who hadto wait forAmericans tocome over toplay
anywhere that wasn’ta wine bar or a pub.
“When I came intojazz I couldn’t workout why all these
great jazz musicianswould want to play to a
limited audience. I wanted toplay on the main stage of the
Festival Hall – that was myambition.
“The media couldn’tunderstand what I was
doing at the time, butI’m still standing andI’m still playing jazz.”
His silver-sellingdebut alsoestablished Pine asthe leading force inBritish jazz, a statushe has used to bringyoungsters to theforefront – using theJazz Warriors tocatapult UK jazz starslike Tony Kofi andBryan Wilson intothe spotlight. His record label
Destin-E also put outthe debut album by
rising starsEmpirical – one ofthe most excitingnews albums of the
FAMILY: Le SnobMillennium Plain, 5.30pm/10.15pm, free admissionBegin your festival with Fanfare Le Snob, an incredible gliding streetband from France. Quite a spectacle, dressed in cone-shapedgowns and hats spouting flames, the fanfare member playingassorted brass, percussion and plucked instruments, they moveswiftly and silently, morphing as if by magic from one transfixingroutine to another.
saturday
sundayJAZZ: Tomasz Stanko QuartetSt Peter Mancroft, 8.30pm, £9-£17, 01603 766400Tomasz Stanko enjoys legendary status on the European jazz sceneas a trumpeter, composer and free-jazz pioneer. His haunting,lyrical music and complex, delicate compositions have earned himthe reputation as one of the world’s most original and inventivejazz trumpeters. A rare treat.
mondayMUSIC/FAMILY: London Mozart Players with RogerMcGoughSt Andrew’s Hall, 5pm, £10-£20, children under-16 £5-£10,01603 766400 A musical treat for all the family. Two sparkling works by Mozart andHaydn set the scene for Saint Saëns’ ever-popular journey throughthe animal kingdom. The London Mozart Players create a musicalbackdrop for popular poet Roger McGough’s animal-themed verses.
tuesdayDRAMA: Kitchen (You’ve Never Had It So Good)Norwich Playhouse, 8pm (also Wednesday), £12, 01603 766400British-German collaboration Gob Squad present a multi-mediajourney back in time It’s 1965 and they are setting out to reconstructAndy Warhol’s Kitchen, despite the fact that none of them haveever seen it. How do they know if they’re going wrong? How didpeople dance? What did they talk about? Had feminismhappened?
WORLD MUSIC: Femi Temowo & Mike Swai BandNorwich Arts Centre, 8pm, £5, 01603 660352Femi Temowo is a long-time collaborator with Soweto Kinch andAmy Winehouse. He has recently been developing his owncompositions fusing modern jazz with early Yoruba folk music.Collaborating with Nigerian musicians this will be its first airing.Mike Swai will be premiering his recent work with Senegalesedjembe master Makhou N’Diaye.
wednesdayFAMILY: Architects of Air Chapelfield Gardens, May 1-16, Mon-Fri 3pm-8pm;Sat/Sun/Bank Holiday Monday 11am-8pm, free admissionRelinquish your shoes and your senses as you immerse yourself inthe surreal, sensual world of Levity III, a kaleidoscope of liquid light,gentle surround sound and psychedelic colour. The 10,000-sq ftinflatable, walk-through sculpture is inspired by Islamic architecture.It’s also a fantastic chill-out zone.
CLASSICAL: Festival Chorus and Hewett SchoolChoir with Birmingham Symphony OrchestraSt Andrews Hall, 7.30pm, £7.50-£40, 01603 766400Jonathan Dove gained widespread acclaim for his operas Flight andPinocchio. There Was a Child, a specially commissioned work heregets its world premiere. A joyful celebration of the wonder of life itfeatures the combined forces of one of the world’s finest orchestras,the Festival chorus and the choir of Norwich’s Hewett School.
thursday
7 things in 7 daystonight at The Festival
