It has been over four decades since saxophonist Courtney Pine first emerged onto the British jazz scene and his motto has remained the same: “The limit of jazz is the limit of your imagination. If you imagine far enough, there is no limitation at all.”
In 2024 Pine celebrates his 60th birthday, and 38 years since the release of his debut album as a bandleader, Journey to the Urge Within. Back in 1986, Journey was a watershed moment for the UK’s improvised music scene, opening the door for other black artists who had previously faced severe obstacles in the British jazz world to find a wider audience. Pine has since gone on to release over a dozen records as a leader, as well as produce for the likes of quartet Empirical and violinist Omar Puente; and form his own record label, Destin-E. He has been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, won Best Jazz Act at the MOBOs and in 2009 he was given a CBE for his services to jazz music.
Acclaimed and garlanded as he is, Pine isn’t resting on his laurels. Speaking over a video call from the book-lined living room of his London home, it’s clear that his appetite for imagination is just as strong as ever.
“I don’t see myself as an elder yet,” he says with a laugh. “I started relatively young, so I’ve always wanted to know what I would sound like at 40, 50 or 60. What would I be practising? What would I be listening to? What would I be trying to achieve?”
Read the interview in Jazzwise Magazine.
[This piece was published on 10/07/24]
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