Black Notes from The Deep

(Preview by Russell)

Last year Courtney Pine appeared with Zoe Rahman at the Gateshead International Jazz Festival. Sage One’s audience heard Pine playing exclusively bass clarinet. Of late, Jazz Warriors’ alumnus Pine has returned to playing tenor saxophone for the first time in something like ten years. Music to the ears of some jazz fans!

A young Courtney Pine blew some great tenor in a small group format and his forthcoming concert with British soul singer Omar at Sage Gateshead promises, once again, a touch of tenor madness!

A BBC Jazz Awards winner, a MOBO winner, a Mercury Prize nomination, Pine has stacked up the honours. Thursday’s concert in Sage Two features a jazz-meets-soul collaboration between friends – Pine and British soul star Omar. In 1991 There’s Nothing Like This catapulted Omar Lye-Fook to the upper reaches of the singles’ charts. Half a dozen albums later, ‘neo-soul’ man Omar performs on stage with Courtney Pine. Their new album – Black Notes from the Deep on Freestyle Records – will feature prominently at Gateshead and the band includes none other than pianist and organist  Robert Mitchell alongside Vidal Montgomery (bass) and Robert Fordjour (drums). The new album has been featured on BBC 6 Music and the Pine-Omar duo played a studio set on Radio 3’s In Tune programme with Pine sounding in fine form on tenor saxophone.

Thursday’s concert in Sage Two is likely to sell out. To book your seats telephone the ticket office – 0191 443 4661 or visit www.sagegateshead.com    

Russell