Courtney Pine - To the Eyes of Creation

It certainly seems as if all of Courtney Pine's previous albums were leading up to this one, (check out his liner note, which leaves no doubt). Here, he comes up with a grandly eclectic excursion into just about everything that has interested him in the past. Sometimes the metamorphoses take place within an individual track; for example, there is a "Country Dance" that sails forth in a folk-like manner until pianist Julian Joseph sends it into straight-ahead post-bop and Pine (on tenor sax) whizzes it like a madman onto Coltrane's turf. There are whiffs of Latinized jazz, jazz-lite to a rock rhythm, an African vocal interlude, pure Jamaican ska grooving on "Eastern Standard Time," a venture into India ("The Meditation of Contemplation" -- ooh, what a giveaway title), conventional R&B balladeering by singers Juliet Roberts and Linda Muriel, a drum solo piece for Mark Mondesir, more Coltrane tributes, even a respectful, straightforward rendition of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song." The changes of pace, sound and style are dizzying, and they don't come together as a whole; the disc sounds more like an anthology than a single project. Pine displays a lot of talent and a lot of curiosity but not a whole lot of organizing sense or memorable insight here. - by Richard S. Ginell, AMG

Artist: Courtney Pine
Album: To the Eyes of Creation
Year: 1992
Label: Island
Quality: eac-flac, cue, log, artw.
Runtime: 56:46

Tracks:
1.  The Healing Song (Courtney Pine) 4:58
2.  Zaire (Traditional/arr. Courtney Pine) 0:43
3.  Country Dance (Barbara Thompson) 8:06
4.  Psalm (Traditional/arr. Courtney Pine) 4:08
5.  Eastern Standard Time (Don Drummond) 4:43
6.  X-caliber (Courtney Pine) 1:45
7.  The Mediation of Contemplation (Courtney Pine) 3:48
8.  Life Goes Around (Courtney Pine/Juliet Roberts) 4:18
9.  The Ark of Mark (Mark Mondesir) 1:34
10.  Chirldren Hold On (Courtney Pine/Linda Muriel) 4:26
11.  Cleopatra 's Needle (Courtney Pine) 6:59
12.  Redemption Song (Bob Marley) 3:44
13.  The Holy Grail (Courtney Pine) 7:28

Personnel:
Courtney Pine (Tenor Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, Soprano Saxophone, Keyboards, Tamboura, Alto Flute and Bells) - 1-8,10-13
Tony Remi (Acoustic Guitar) - 1-3,11
Julian Joseph (Hammond B3 Organ, Piano) - 1-3,11
Wayne Batchelor (Double Bass) - 1-4,11
Thomas Dyani (Percussion) - 1-3,8,11
Mark Mondesir (Drums) - 1-3,6,9,11
Gary Crosby (Double Bass) - 5,12,13
Cameron Pierre (Guitar) - 4,5,12
Frank Tontoh (Drums and Tamborine) - 4,10
Cleveland Watkiss (Backing Vocals) - 1
Dennis Rollins (Trombone) - 5
Juliet Roberts (Vocals) - 8
Peter Lewinson (Drums) - 8
Linda Muriel (Vocals) - 10
Brian Abrahams (Drums) - 13
Keith Waite (Wooden Flute and Shakeres) - 13
Bheki Mseleku (Piano) - 13
Mamadi Kamara (Percussion) - 13