Courtney Pine CBE stands as one of the most important architects of modern British jazz. London born, he emerged in the mid 1980s as not just a gifted saxophonist but as a sweeping cultural force who repositioned jazz as a rich contemporary music rooted in Britain’s Black communities and beyond.

In 1986 Courtney Pine’s debut album Journey To The Urge Within charted in the UK Top 40 albums chart, and placed jazz unequivocally in the centre of reggae, soul, hip hop and the sound-system culture, leaving a legacy that still resonates loudly today.

Four decades on, Out Of The Ghetto, A Modern Day Jazz Story is released by UMR on 24^th April to celebrate Courtney Pine’s seismic influence.

A 2CD collection and expanded digital edition that traces his formative recording period from the mid 1980s to the late 1990s, Out Of The Ghetto, A Modern Day Jazz Story includes three previously unreleased 1986 studio recordings. Here for the first time are rare versions of Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Lady (available now), alongside two Courtney originals Guidance and Song for Our Children.
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