Courtney Pine

Who is Courtney Pine?

Courtney Pine CBE is an English jazz musician. At school he studied the clarinet, although he is known primarily for his saxophone playing. Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also playing the flute, clarinet, bass clarinet and keyboards. On his 2011 album, Europa, he plays almost exclusively bass clarinet.

In 1986 Pine's debut album Journey to the Urge Within entered the UK Top 40.

His recent music integrates modern British music like drum and bass and UK garage with contemporary jazz styles. He runs his own band and integrates many contemporary musicians in his performances. He also presents Jazz Crusade on BBC Radio 2, the seventh series of which was broadcast during spring 2007.

In 1988 he appeared as himself in a jazz quartet in the Doctor Who serial Silver Nemesis.

Pine was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2000, and Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2009 New Year Honours for services to jazz music. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Westminster on 6 December 2004. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Southampton on 15 July 2010.

Pine appeared in August 2008 as an advocate for Pierre Boulez, on the BBC World News classical music programme, Visionaries.