Pine combines seriousness of intent with an ability to communicate warmly to a broad audience ... engaging tracks ... Pine is superb. (The Guardian)
Courtney Pines brandneues Album ist eine Hommage an den sagenhaften Pionier und Saxophonisten Sidney Bechet aus New Orleans. Sein neues Werk zollt aber nicht nur Sidney Bechet Tribut, sondern es markiert auch einen Streifzug durch den großartigen Sound des „Jazz Warrior“ Courtney Pine. Zum ersten Mal inspiriert wurde Courtney Pine als er Sidney Bechets „Summertime“ in den frühen 80er Jahren hörte. Wie man heute weiß, reiste Bechet in den 20er Jahren gerne nach London und entdeckte dort ein silbernes Sopran Saxophon. Er kaufte das Saxophon und der Rest ist Geschichte. Im Hinblick auf das enorme Vermächnis dieses inspirierenden Künstlers zeigt uns Courtney Pines „Transition in tradition“, dass das Vermächtnis von Jazz eine anhaltende und sich immer weiterentwickelnde Kunst ist. Pines Bass Clarinette steht bei den meisten Titeln im Mittelpunkt, neben dem Harmonium, den Kastagnetten und der Mandoline – aber der entstandene Sound ist beeindruckend und absolut einzigartig. Geradezu meisterlich trägt Courtney eine atemberaubende Mischung aus Swing, Hard Bop und Stride-Klavier sowie New Orleans Jazz zusammen und dabei sind die afrikanischen und karibischen Wurzeln des Musikers unverkennbar. Klasse! (Pressetext)

Saxophonist Courtney Pine, who was awarded a C.B.E for services to music in the 2009 New Year Honours is back touring with his critically acclaimed „Transition in Tradition“ album set. Courtney’s 12th album and his debut release on his own label Destin-e World, not only pays tribute to the first great saxophone star Sidney Bechet, but also marks several new forays into sound for the groundbreaking Jazz Warrior. Reviewed as some of his best work to date, the music was composed and evolved through a series of intimate shows in the UK during 2007 before Pine brought his band into the studio to document and capture the energy that only a live audience can give – this will be the first extensive tour of the finished material. Pulling together a heavyweight musical line-up that draws influences from Africa, the Caribbean, South America and Europe, the set is as deep as the legacy of jazz, as it is reflective of their collective musical heritage. A change in instrumentation sees Pine\\\\\\\'s Bass Clarinet take centre stage on many occasions, alongside Harmonium, Castanets and Mandolin and the resulting sound is like no other Courtney Pine record. „Of course I pay respect to the great Bechet by playing a silver soprano saxophone like his, but there are other flavours like my Alto Flute playing on The Tale Of Joe Harriott and of course that Caribbean groove\\\\\\\". It\\\\\\\'s that very groove that gives this album another of it\\\\\\\'s unique elements, as forays into New Orleans 2nd line beats merge into an old school swing beat, a medium tempo swing smoothly flows into a reggae one drop beat, there is a feeling of continuing movement as each track passes from one place to another. „I want to show in these compositions how our journey as a culture is constantly in transition, things change in one tune musically just as we do in real life”. (Pressetext)