Europa [CD]

The album uses the medium of jazz to ask questions such as how, why and who created the continent that we call Europe, constructing a musical collage that takes you on a journey from Scandinavia across the region, touching bases with the British Isles, France, Spain, Italy and Russia, down to the Mediterranean Sea and more, to produce an inspirational and unique sound reflecting the continent's evolution. This new studio recording incorporates influences as far ranging as Gregorian chant, Scandinavian, Celtic, Spanish, Hungarian, Mediterranean melodies and rhythms and more, that show the scope, width and growth of the continent.

The recording features a powerful multi-cultural cast that reflect their own European stories. Internationally renowned bassist Alec Dankworth, drummer Mark Mondesir and pianist Zoe Rahman are joined by special guests clarinetist Shabaka Hutchings, mandolinist Cameron Pierre, electric violinist Omar Puente and drummer Robert Fordjour, amongst others.

Personnel: Courtney Pine (bass clarinet), Shabaka Hutchings (clarinet), Zoe Rahman (acoustic piano), Omar Puente (viola), Cameron Pierre (mandolin, acoustic guitar), Alec Dankworth (double bass), Mark Mondesir, Robert Fordjour (drums, Dube) and others

In the 1990s, albums such as Modern Day Jazz Stories diverted a lot of energy into attempting to tap into the contemporary urban sounds of hip hop and jungle, with varying success. So, purists will welcome this album’s return to jazz. Apart from a couple of (mercifully brief) bursts of dated drum’n’bass rhythm, this is assured acoustic jazz, ranging from lush ballads to tempestuous post-bop, played by an all-star band including drummer Mark Mondesir, pianist Zoe Rahman and rising clarinettist Shabaka Hutchins. Still, there is an element of innovation, in that this is the first of Pine’s recordings in which he forgoes the saxophone completely and plays only bass clarinet: mining its rich, woody timbres, investigating overblown harmonics and frequently spinning out into lengthy, tumbling solos that owe more to John Coltrane’s diamond-hard intensity than the wonky genius of bass clarinet proselytiser, Eric Dolphy.

There’s an element of the exotic about his choice of horn that suits the album’s compositions, many of which conflate touches of middle-eastern music and Celtic reels with klezmer and jazz, creating a globetrotting hybrid reminiscent of Lloyd Miller’s ethno-jazz experiments. All this is done in the service of the album’s overarching concept – an attempt to examine African influences on the origins and development of the continent of Europe. And it has to be said, this is the project’s main failing, with lengthy but sloppy sleeve notes struggling to hold together a muddled story of ancient Egyptian priests, Moorish conquerors and Viking pygmies. Of course, we can overlook the spelling mistakes and sixth-form grammar but when Pine baldly states that Darwin’s Dream Deferred is "a bid to prove that Darwin’s concept on evolution was premature and incorrect" – with no qualification or explanation – one can’t help raising an eyebrow. Enough with the lectures already, Courtney.

--Daniel Spicer

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