There is no lack of variety on Devotion, Courtney Pine's ninth CD, on which he fuses his unique saxophone sound with reggae, soul, funk, world music and electronics. Devotion opens spectacularly with Sister Soul, a strong piece of soul jazz supported by a screeching Hammond B4, which is played by Pine himself, and then changes into the ska of Devotion. Then space is cleared for tranquility in the
… form of John Martyn's Bless The Weather, a soul ballad sung by David McAlmont. The journey continues to Africa with Osibisa, a tribute to the eponymous group, before moving on to India where Pine is accompanied by sitar and tablas on Translusance. On When The World Turns Blue, a ballad in double tempo, he is accompanied by the full voice of Carleen Anderson. Everyday Is Everyday again delivers soul jazz, this time with a jazz dance background to end in a moody way with With All My Love ... This makes Devotion one of Pine's most varied CDs, but also one on which everything happens as it was before in his head. An absolute must. (AD)more
