1. Haiti
2. New Orleans
3. Le Matin est Noire
4. Transition in Tradition
5. Toussaint L'Ouverture
6. The Tale Of Joe Harriott
7. The Sound Of Jazz?
8. Creole Swing
9. Afropean
10. Au Revoir
Courtney Pine - Soprano sax, bass clarinet, alto flute
Omar Puente - Electric violin
Cameron Pierre - Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin
Alex Wilson - Acoustic piano, electric organ, harmonium
Darren Taylor - Double bass
Robert Fordjour - Drums, castanets, tambourine, iron
Stefon Harris - Vibes, marimba (tracks 1, 6, 8, 9)
Harry Brown - Trombone (tracks 4, 7)
Jay Phelps - Trumpet, flugelhorn (tracks 5, 8, 9)
Nathaniel Facey - Alto sax (tracks 5, 8, 9)
Paul "Shanti" Jayasinha - Flugelhorn (track 10)
I am in two minds about Courtney Pine, which are summed
up in my review of Empirical's debut CD in 2007. My emotions are still
mixed after listening to this album several times. It is dedicated
to Sidney Bechet, the pioneer of the soprano saxophone, but the connection
with Bechet is tenuous. The album contains none of Bechet's compositions
and no tunes associated with him, and Courtney's soprano sax sounds
nothing like Bechet's. The nearest reference we get is Creole Swing,
which Courtney's sleeve-notes say mix two different time-signatures
- like Sidney Bechet, who "had no qualms on mixing musical elements
or techniques that he liked".
In fact the whole album is a rather strange mixture
of styles, including Caribbean, South American and even Klezmer. The
instrumentation includes mandolin, harmonium and castanets. Courtney
Pine composed and arranged all the CD's tracks and it seems as if
he has thrown together a ragbag of styles. Sometimes it works; sometimes
it doesn't.
For example, the opening Haiti mingles Haitian
beats with folkloric tendencies, plus wild jazz from Courtney's bass
clarinet. But Stefon Harris's marimba solo is very effective. New
Orleans (aka Crescent City Rise) mixes together the sort
of sounds you might have heard at various times in the Crescent City.
Courtney's soprano sax swirls around; guitarist Cameron Pierre contributes
a more straight-ahead solo; and Alex Wilson starts his solo in stride-piano
mode.
Le Matin est Noire (sic) gets its title
from an Archie Shepp tune, and it is almost folky in its four-squareness
until it suddenly turns into a mournful Spanish lament. The title-track
contains elements of reggae, and Courtney's soprano sax again swirls
about dementedly. Toussaint L'Ouverture starts as a somewhat
gloomy tribute to the Haitian revolutionary leader who combated slavery.
The mood cheers up with Alex Wilson's Latin-American piano solo.
The Tale of Joe Harriott is another tribute:
this time to the Jamaican altoist who came to Britain in 1951 and
pioneered free improvisation. Pine's alto flute sounds sad. The
Sound of Jazz? has a weird oom-pah beat which turns into a reggae
rhythm (more dexterous guitar from Cameron Pierrre) and then into
salsa (with Omar Puente's violin prominent). Each section is divided
by a sort of funeral march!
Stefon Harris reappears on vibes in Creole Swing,
which has touches of the "Latin tinge" but also bits of
reggae. Afropean has the sound of South African townships and
is Courtney's homage to the black South African exiles who emigrated
to Britain. The closing Au Revoir also has a touch of African
influence.
The sleeve-note includes Courtney Pine's gratitude
in these less-than-modest words: "THANX to almighty Jah for guiding
me to the truth of the past, the present and the future". One
truth that Courtney seems to think he has discovered is that jazz
is in a constant state of flux - something that most jazz devotees
have known for years. The result of Courtney's revelation is an album
that might be regarded as either a bit of a mess or a healthy exercise
in eclecticism. I am still in two minds about Courtney Pine.
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
Destin-E
World 777C005005
