was the time that I couldn’t get a record deal and Talking Loud already had 4hero and Roni Size on his label. Gilles being a DJ was more interested in people making beats than playing an instrument, but he was forced to put out my music and they did what they could.
IMAGE BY ALEXIS MARYON
So let’s talk about the House Of Legends project. I really like the vibe of it which embraces lots of different cultural influences and it remains conscious. I like the bit at the back where you say if you really wanna know (Fitzroy laughs) when you break down the records and their meaning. At first I didn’t read the meanings, but they made sense as I had already guessed what a lot of them actually meant. Your saxophone style reminds me of Dizzy Gillespie, partly because of the way you freestyle, and secondly because of your famous golf ball cheeks. (Courtney laughs: “That’s true.”) I like the sombre vibe of ‘A Tale For Stephen Lawrence’ as an instrumental that needs no words to describe the poignancy of the song. I also like ‘Kingstonian Swing’ (Courtney: “So now you understand my relationship between ska and jazz?”) Absolutely. I also like the steel pans.
afro rhythms on the planet. (Courtney: “I agree, oh man…”) So I had to see them live. Back in the day there were a few records that had that steel pan sound like Modern Sound Corporation’s ‘Safari’ (Courtney: “Yeah, I’ve got that.”), ‘Trinidad’ by John Gibbs Band, Grover Washingt on’s ‘Little Black S a m b a ’ and Ralph McDonald’s ‘The Path’. You’ve borrowed a couple of riffs from Stevie Wonder’s ‘Sir Duke’ on ‘Samuel Sharpe’ and The brass stabs of James Browns ‘Ain’t It Funky Now’ on ‘Ma-Di Ba’, but all in the mix of a Caribbean calypso vibe so I commend you. I liked the tracks you did for Nelson Mandela who passed a few months later, ‘Claudia Jones’ and ‘The Song Of The Maroons’ as part of the concept especially with the breakdown.
working with these musicians they took Catch Courtney Pineanyone atlikedTheit butJazz Cafe the score to somewhere better than I expected. I put it out on my own label and it was voted the best record of the year Wednesday 28th & Thursday 29th by the jazz critics. IDecember pinch myself because 2016 I think they may Lots of that was where I grew up, initially in the Notting have made a mistake, and they are gonna call it back. I’ve Hill gate area and the influence of thehis Carnival, as Europe’sOfnever had such an accolade before. The more of a personal with House Legends project biggest carnival. Doing this album was scary because I didn’t statement you make the more it reaches people and you see know how the jazz heads would take it. A lot of them don’t know that the Caribbean sound and musicians influenced jazz. There’s a man from Grenada, Leslie Hutchinson who has a picture of him running around New Orleans with Duke Ellington. There are plenty of others who left the Caribbean Islands aspiring to playing with American jazz musicians and they in turn inspired and influenced other musicians. Caribbean music is not just reggae or ska, there are different elements from Cuba, Trinidad and Guadeloupe, and the steel pans are important. I found a legendary musician from the Breakfast Band who was actually in Trinidad when I called him to play on the album. Luckily when he came to London we were able to record his contribution on the album As you were talking I remember at the start of the conversation that we spoke about bucking up at The Breakfast band gig, I was gonna ask you if their sound influenced you at all. Their album was so unique at the time and I loved ‘LA 14’ which for me is one of the most innovative UK and worldwide jazz funk disco calypso
You know there is a point of departure where I didn’t care if
that when I toured with this album. I’m really satisfied with this record.
So you have dates at The Jazz Cafe in December for a couple of dates and I think it’s time for you to plug the gig. The Jazz Cafe has always been a fantastic spot for me. I’ve seen them change the carpets a few times over the years and it’s a wonderful place. The Jazz cafe is one of the best venues in Europe and have the best line up of acts that are innovative. It’s one of the best standing up venues where the people are there to have a good time. So playing this music at the Jazz Cafe is like a dream come true. Speaking of accolades you have an CBE. Yes, I think they made a mistake and are going to ask for it back. For the palace to recognise us from our generation means a lot our work has been underground and it’s amazing that someone from the palace has heard about what we are doing and recognises it. thesoulsurvivorsmagazine.co.uk