Made by Human Hands

Grand Union have been making communal, culturally expansive and embracing music for four decades now, with a strong legacy of ‘passing it on’ via participatory workshops, a youth orchestra and the Re:Generation Band. To date, more than 100 musicians of more than 50 nationalities have played under the banner of Grand Union – Courtney Pine among them – while the core players gathered around founder/composer Tony Haynes have remained intact since the 1980s.

With British jazz greats Tony Kofi, Jason Yarde and Byron Wallen among the current line-up, the Grand Union is in as good a health as ever, and this set collects together 16 tracks from across the years, featuring the Union’s signature busy blend of world music, big bold brass, ebullient improvisation and socially committed lyrics. Pine’s mellifluous improvisational soloing features on closing track ‘I Live in the City’, while Kofi’s baritone sax graces ‘Can’t Chain Up Me Mind’, and singers Alison Limerick and Gail Ann Dorsey raise the spirit on opening samba track ‘Love That Day’. Whether it’s the Ghanaian chants and congas of ‘Nanouman’, the Trinidadian pans of ‘Feelin’ Nice’ or the salsa of ‘New Day’, Grand Union Orchestra is big, broad and expansive while aiming true at the heart and soul of the music.