MODERN jazz colossus Courtney Pine appeared briefly in a 1988 episode of Doctor Who featuring Sylvester McCoy as the seventh Doctor.

Towards the end of this phenomenal concert at Taliesin, the presence of a Time Lord might have been handy, if only to turn back the clock an hour so some of us could catch the last bus home — the format of the show, which effectively made accompanying violinist Omar Puente into a fully- fledged support act that took up the first half of the evening, meant this was possibly the longest event of its kind to have played at Taliesin.

Not that anyone was complaining. Pine's masterly touch with a saxophone blew the audience away (no pun intended), as did his wit, good humour and rapport with the crowd.

Pine, accompanied by the aforementioned Puente, Cameron Pierre (guitar), Robert Fordjour (drums), Zoe Rahman (piano) and Darren Taylor (bass), took his adoring audience on a rollercoaster ride which encompassed elements of world music as well as a variety of jazz and funk genres. Just as his idol Sidney Bechet had done so many years before, he demonstrated how music can evolve, develop and reach out to a new generation without losing its integrity.

There were moments of raw passion and darkness, and it is fair to say that many of the individual solos were interminably lengthy, but these were more than compensated for by more mellow material and by smart references to numbers such as Summertime and The Entertainer during some of the solos.

Some of us might have had to walk home in the rain after missing a ride home, but it was almost worth it to savour the buzz that permeated throughout the venue.

Graham Williams

Courtney Pine — Tradition in Transition: En Hommage a Sidney Bechet, Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea University