All those who have seen Courtney Pine's recent appearances will have enjoyed the contribution of his front-line partner, trombonist Dennis Rollins.

Their last collaboration was the irrepressibly funky horn work for Pine's On Track Commonwealth extravaganza at the Brighton Dome.

Though he seemed an irreplaceable part of the Pine unit, Dennis has left to concentrate on his own material, although he and Courtney will be gigging together on other projects.

We can now look forward to more of Badbone & Co, which features Courtney's bassist Peter Martin and Errol Rollins on drums.

Their brother Winston is another successful trombonist who is best known for his TV work and playing with the Jools Holland band. Dennis prefers the buzz of Badbone & Co. however.

"I totally enjoy what I'm doing, getting the word out, being on the road every week. It's a blessing to be doing my own band, a dream really."

The build-up has included work with legendary figures on the jazz, funk and soul scene, including Roy Ayers, Hermeto Pascoal, Marcus Miller, Lonnie Liston Smith and Dionne Warwick.

As part of the Brand New Heavies' Smoking Grooves US tour, he got to work with Erykah Badu, Cypress Hill and George Clinton.

"I'm lucky it's been like that. It's ironic that people like Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg are now just emulating that early-Seventies thing."

The debut CD from Badbone is one of those perfect recordings that will become a fixture in your player. Dennis produced it himself and he is keen to represent the cause of genuine jazz against the tide of smooth product.

"A lot of people are making their own recordings, now it costs less. You can give two fingers to the record companies that want your life. There's still the problem of how the media approach jazz. They don't look at what the word means - an improvised music that stretches the imagination as far as it can go. Jazz FM offers smooth, easy listening music and if they say this is jazz, people think that's what it is. It doesn't promote UK musicians, it is now a US company."

Dennis has just laid down tracks for a follow-up recording.

"In the process of making the new CD, I'm taking time out to listen to more music, get the arrangements ready and decide what direction I want to take so I don't get stale." A very unlikely prospect.

For tickets, call 01273 647100.