Courtney Pine at Hoochie Coochie.

Courtney Pine (soprano sax/ewi); Cameron Pierre, Chris Cobbson (gtrs); Darren Taylor (bs); Samuel Dubois (steel pans); Robert Fordjour (dms)
(Review by Lance)
Was this or wasn't this a night to remember?
It was!

In fact it was quite fantastic although - shock horror - Courtney made the mistake of showing that jazz can also be entertainment! This was entertainment with a capital E and jazz with a capital J. I imagine some of the jazz mafia shaking their heads at the thought of people enjoying themselves whilst listening to jazz!

The emphasis was on the Caribbean and, in places, reminded me of a disc John Surman made many years ago. This was sheer fun (capital F) and Pine displayed a degree of virtuosity on soprano that beggared belief.

He also played a strange digital instrument - the EWI. Through the wonders of technology, this electronic device enables the player to cover the range of, say, a contra bass sax to a sopranino sax and beyond. Our boy used it to great effect on Body and Soul.

 Hoochie was packed and the crowd responded enthusiastically to what CP and the band were laying down,

Talking 'bout the band - two fantastic guitarists, great bassist, drummer and an out of this world steel panner. I'm guessing at the musicians but I was so much into the excitement being generated that I didn't catch the names.

Come the finale, Courtney made his inevitable foray into the crowd. Playing and shaking hands, dancing and delighting the fans with his hands-on approach. 

As I said at the beginning, this was a night to remember.
Check out his latest CD - House of Legends.
Lance.