Album: Courtney Pine, Europa (Destin-E)

Secure in his identity as an Afropean rasta, Courtney Pine is on a roll.

The epic theme here is Europe's historic debt to Africa, covered in a grand sweep through most of the continent, several ancient civilizations, and the legend of the Holy Grail. The history might not please David Starkey but as an update on the gnostic visions of Sun Ra, it's inspiring. Throughout, Pine plays the bass clarinet, whose colonial history (it's made from African hardwood) he relates to the overall plan.