Courtney Pine - Within The Realms Of Our Dreams (1991)

Pine continued to cement himself tightly within the Marsalis cartel here, associating with the likes of alumni Kenny Kirkland (piano), Charnett Moffett (bass), and Jeff Watts (drums), with Delfeayo Marsalis again at the production console. This could almost pass as a Branford Marsalis acoustic album; Pine's virtuosity and fluency on tenor and soprano and admiration of John Coltrane run virtually parallel to Branford's acoustic pursuits (as things transpired later, Pine would also display the same renegade eclectic curiosity as the eldest Marsalis brother). In addition to his own tunes -- including the screwball "A Raggamuffin and His Lance" -- Pine explores Ornette Coleman's "Una Muy Bonita" with a touch of Coleman's terseness in his rhetoric, and does a dazzlingly swift turn on Charlie Parker's "Donna Lee." Ultimately, though, the music with these American musicians doesn't catch as much fire as Pine's albums with British sidemen did. -- Richard S. Ginell