Journey To the Urge Within, Courtney Pine, 1986, :49
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
The debut album of a saxophonist and clarinetist who apparently revived a moribund British jazz scene. This is the kind of music that most people usually think of when they think of jazz. Drums crashing, punctuated by bleats and the sudden wahhhh! wahhhh! of a sax and tinkling vibes. These pieces pleasantly surprised me; they zig and zag in directions that they don't telegraph ahead of time. I'd be tapping along to one rhythm when suddenly some other beat snuck in. Some people think of jazz as background music. This isn't background music. You gotta pay attention. Favorite tracks: "Miss Interpret," "E F P."
