WAY back in the 1980s a fresh-faced Courtney Pine appeared on the front cover of the New Musical Express and remains the only black British jazz artist to do so.

The last quote in the revealing two-page feature read: ‘You know I’m doing this for a reason’, and some 30-odd years later he still is.

A past headliner of the Ribble Valley Jazz Festival, the gifted saxophonist, who began teaching himself the instrument aged 14, returns to the Grand, Clitheroe, next Saturday still towering above the UK jazz scene.

“I’m still having a go and when I see all this amazing new talent; youngsters who are taking up the mantle, composing, performing and presenting their cutting-edge work in a new way, well I know that UK jazz is in rude health.” said Courtney.

“It gives me a special feeling when I see and hear that.

“The kids are not sat about, waiting for a mysterious A&R man to sign them in a dingy club somewhere, they are out there kicking off because new technology has allowed them to do it for themselves.”

Pine’s innovative style has brought jazz to a fresh audience, mashing it with reggae, drum’ n’ bass, dub, hip-hop and jungle.

“These kids are taking jazz and that fusion with other sounds to a new level we’ve not seen before,” added Courtney.

“It is a different aesthetic, they are energized and hungry, and I can’t think of a more exciting time for our music.

“They want to get it out there and they are not going to let anybody stop them.”

Courtney was awarded an OBE in 2000 and later a CBE in 2009 for services to jazz.

He has released 16 studio albums and continues to tour worldwide with his award-winning band playing concert halls and festivals from Glastonbury to Fuji Rock in Japan and the Montreux Jazz Festival.

And a widely respected television and radio broadcaster he is best known for his long running BBC Jazz Crusade radio show.

“I’m very fortunate to have travelled the globe,” he said. “What I’ve found is that there is a demand for jazz in every single town in the world, because it is a music of such depth and passion and we are keeping the legacy of Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and Charlie Parker strong for a new generation.”

His latest album, Black Notes from the Deep, is a collection of funk-orientated duets with vocalist Omar, including the powerful Rivers of Blood, taking its title from Enoch Powell’s 1968 controversial speech.

“Having Omar on the album and working live with him re-ignited something in me, and it proved to be a breath of fresh air,” he said.

“I get a very varied audience at my shows aged 80 to teenagers, and Clitheroe has become a special place to play for me because it has a great vibe.”

Courtney Pine and the Inner City Ensemble, Grand Theatre, Clitheroe, Saturday, February 24. Details from 01200 421599, www.thegrandvenue.co.uk