I dug this out today, not sure why it'd been on my mind...though it is lovely.
It takes me back, my children, to a time when 'jazz' in Britain, which for so long had been the preserve of beardy white middle-aged blokes with beer bellies (bless them, they kept it alive here) was suddenly a musical place where young British black men, the children and grandchildren of Windrush and after, came to play...and Courtney, born a year before me in West London, and a kid that grew up like me on Trumpton and Mary, Mungo & Midge and Pete and John and Val, was making this music not just in the African-American tradition but soaked too in a kind of Caribbean-Britishness, and even (believe it) selling records of it too - by the cartload, in fact.
It was all very groovy.
This smooooth track from the 'Songs From Our Underground' E.P (which - Anglo-American - also features a cover of John Barry's theme from Jukebox Jury and Hoagy Carmichael's 'Skylark' with Ellis Marsalis) is a song made famous by The Stylistics and The Jones Girls and 'goes' (as they say in late-night radio) 'out to' all of you who like me are prone to noodling with your PC and music whilst the ones that you love and who love you forever are asleep. And possibly dribbling.
Nice.
Courtney Pine - 'Children Of The Night' (1990)
[Lead vocal - Linda Muriel. Courtney Pine's website here]
I met Courtney when I worked at the Virgin Megastore years ago. He was a really nice guy.
ReplyDeleteGreat track.
But also, thanks for reminding me of The Jones Girls. I haven't listened to them for years!
i've forgotten what staying up late is like - it's me tucked up and dribbling then up at some horrifically early hour watching the city wake up. i miss dancing appallingly to jazz. i shall do some on my living room to this
ReplyDeletex
'Nights Over Egypt - boom boom boom be doom' - ah, many of our Friday nights begin with that one I can tell you. Hurrah for appalling front room dancing say I.
ReplyDeleteIs it you dribbling or the kids Davy?
ReplyDeleteI loved that early Courtney Pine when he was first finding his voice. What I have heard of his later stuff sounds tired and cliched as he settled into the groove that paid the bills. However, (hush my mouth for saying it) his Radio 2 shows tend to be quite good when I occassionally catch them
Caught one of those shows myself the other day, didn't know he was doing such a thing until then. Good on him.
ReplyDeleteSaw him live at about the time of the reggae album.
You're right; there's a definite grammatical, and possibly life, ambiguity on the dribbling thing.