COURTNEY Pine plays in York for the first time for three years on Thursday.

Jazz saxophonist Pine and his band return to York Theatre Royal for a J-Night concert as part of the York Live Music Festival.

J-Night promoter David Porter says: "Courtney's last appearance at the Theatre Royal was the quickest concert sell-out of any jazz concert in the city, and now there is only limited availability for next week's event."

Pine will be showcasing his latest album, Devotion, a street-smart blend of tradition, technology and hard sax solos, and his 8pm concert will mix jazz improvisation with street beats, hip hop, reggae and R&B.

The saxophonist heads a new generation of innovative British jazz talents, a status that led to Pine being named as one of the Top 10 Greatest Black Britons of all time. Two years ago, the BBC's high-profile hunt for the 100 greatest Britons had failed to feature a single black icon, an omission which drove Patrick Vernon (who runs a black history website) to set up a similar poll exclusively for black Britons. The search was launched in October 2003 as part of Black History month and votes were cast by more than one million people.

Pine, who was awarded the OBE in 2000 for services to jazz, will present the fifth series of his BBC Radio 2 show from next month, and earlier this month he hosted a four-part special from the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

Tickets for May 27 cost £12 to £18; £3.50 for under 25s and students. Box office: 01904 623568.

Updated: 16:15 Thursday, May 20, 2004