COURTNEY PINE Vinyl & CDs

Review: English saxophonist Courtney Pine's debut album Journey to the Urge Within very much announced his arrival back in 1986 on the Verve label. It was largely recorded at Angel Studios, Islington, London and in something of a first for a British jazz album at that time it managed to reach #39 in the UK Albums Chart eventually going on and earning a silver disc for selling over 250,000 copies. The tenor sax man was just 22 when he recorded the album alongside some other promising Black English jazz musicians of the day in singer Cleveland Watkiss, vibraphonist Orphy Robinson and keys player Julian Joseph.

Review: Two stone cold legends on one unforgettable 45": Courtney and Omar build on their recent Black Notes From The Deep live collaborations with a stunning original and killer cover. "Rules" is a funk-based track that jumps and sizzles with a fresh contemporary energy that you might not expect from either party while "Butterfly" pays a very special homage to another stone cold legend Herbie Hancock. A beautiful release. You might say there's nothing like it.