There are few British jazz musicians who have impinged on the public consciousness more than Courtney Pine. A tireless champion of the cutting edge, he has somehow managed to remain a household name, combining fearsome technical skill with a level of charismatic showmanship quite beyond the reach of your average virtuoso saxophonist.
It is hard to imagine anyone better qualified than Pine to front the On Track project, which features a gigantic band of internationally renowned musicians touring the country to promote this year's Commonwealth Games.
The task allows Pine to luxuriate in what has made him famous - the ability to draw together many disparate musical cultures into a thoroughly contemporary tapestry, and sock it to an audience with the panache of a born entertainer.
The show began with Pine appearing on a projection screen, mischievously apologising for not being able to be there in person. Moments later he emerged from the back of the hall, beating a drum and leading the 18-piece band down the aisle towards the stage. Within seconds the entire building shook to a pulverising racket consisting of a horn section, African percussionists and singers, an Indian tabla player and sitarist, two drummers, two guitarists, a bassist and a keyboard player.
Miraculously, Pine had organised the concert so that each musician had a chance to shine, and every solo raised the roof. The juxtaposition of musical styles was adventurous to the point of being jarring, particularly the segueing of Sheema Mukherjee's mesmerising sitar solo into a lengthy rap by hip-hop star Spek.
Pine himself strove tirelessly to be the unifying factor, employing volcanic saxophone solos and funky flute passages to paste over the cracks that separate gospel, jazz, reggae and eastern classical music.
The theme of togetherness was made explicit throughout, with the second half preceded by footage of the band members explaining what the Commonwealth means to them. Fiery ethnic songs about rivers coming together and an encore of Bob Marley's One Love helped ram the point home, but any feeling that we were at a political rally was banished by the party atmosphere.
· Tonight at Colston Hall, Bristol (0117-922 3682), then touring .
