ONE of British jazz's biggest stars will be heading to Cumbria later this year.

Courtney Pine presents Black Notes From The Deep, featuring special guest vocalist Omar, when he visits the Brewery Arts Centre, in Kendal on Tuesday December 11.

The Londoner, founder of 1980s band The Jazz Warriors, and recipient of both an OBE and a CBE for services to jazz music, returned to the tenor saxophone for the first time in a decade for last year's album release, which features the vocal talents of UK soul star Omar, whose 1992 hit single There’s Nothing Like This earned him widespread critical acclaim and saw him collaborate with the likes of Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, Carleen Anderson and Angie Stone.

This very special project brings together two of the UK’s finest jazz and soul talents composing, recording and performing new original material together for the first time as well as a killer cover of Herbie Hancock’s Butterfly.

Multi-instrumentalist Pine was one of the first black British jazz artists to make a serious mark on the jazz scene when his first album, Journey To The Urge Within, charted the top 40.

In 1986, a 22-year-old Courtney Pine appeared on the front cover of the iconic music magazine NME - he is the only Black British jazz artist to do so.

Since then he’s had numerous BBC Jazz Awards, MOBO’s, and his album Modern Day Jazz Stories was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2000, remaining at the forefront of UK jazz, with a contemporary style that integrates modern British sounds like drum 'n' bass and UK garage, alongside soul, hip-hop and deep-rooted influences from across the Caribbean.

Pine has led a generation of exciting and innovative players who have broadened their styles to take jazz out to a wider audience.

He has released 17 studio albums to date and continues to tour Worldwide with his award-winning band playing clubs, concert halls and festivals from Glastonbury to Fuji Rock, Montreux to Cape Town.

His numerous TV and radio presenting credits include Mandela Living Legend for the BBC and the Sony Award-winning long-running specialist jazz show Courtney Pine’s Jazz Crusade for BBC Radio 2.

He was most recently commissioned by The Tate to compose and perform a unique piece inspired by the work of artist Henri Matisse, as part of Tate’s Matisse Live broadcast in cinemas across the UK.

Courtney Pine and Omar appear at the Brewery Arts Centre on December 11, and tickets are available from the venue's box office now.