Saddled with such trophy descriptions as ‘Eighties wunderkind’ and having already received an OBE almost ten years ago for his contributions to the black community and jazz (recently updated to a CBE), saxophonist Courtney Pine seems able effortlessly to reinvent himself for new decades and new generations.

He’s getting four-star reviews for his latest album, Transition in Tradition, a tribute to Sidney Bechet; and next week, he brings his Afropeans to the Oxford Playhouse in a re-run of his 2007 project marking the 200th anniversary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade act.

Pine formed his Jazz Warriors big band back in the 1980s, a big deal then.

“It came out of a need for me and many others from my community to play jazz — it was difficult for us to get into bands, or to play in universities or even in jam sessions, because of the colour of our skin.”

Now, he’s refreshed the brand, crossing generational divides “I could not think of a bigger statement of unity to make,” he told me. “That would represent such an occasion. Some were asked because of their previous history with the Warriors, and others because they have the potential to make — in my opinion — a significant contribution to UK jazz. We’re performing on as many instruments as we can get our hands on — woodwind, brass, violin, cello, double bass, steel pan, drum kit, percussion and piano.”

Among those performing on Monday are singer/cellist Ayanna Witter-Johnson, the clarinet player Shabaka Hutchings, Jason Yarde — who’s both a saxophonist and musical director — and the pianist and Latin music producer Alex Wilson.

I asked Courtney Pine how different the music is for the Afropean project than his more normal material.

“The compositions reflect the individual players. As it’s a large ensemble, there’s much more written passages and group readings. The songs reflect not only our experience as Afropeans but also the legacy of our shared cultural survival — a whole mix of western and African sounds.”

The UK jazz scene when Pine first appeared with his debut album Journey To The Urge Within was, he thought, “in a bit of a decline”.

“There was jazz on BBC2, but not much else. Jazz gigs seemed to be about playing for a percentage of the money that the audience who turned up to hear you would give in a pub. I couldn’t work out why these jazz musicians worked so hard for so little reward. I never actually had a plan to add anything — it was just about representing who I was and the respect I felt that jazz should have.”

The names he particularly remembers from that era are Stan Tracey, Don Weller, Jim Mullen and trombonist Annie Whitehead.

He was also lucky to have Delfeayo Marsalis (brother of Winton) as his record producer at that time “It was extremely important for me to have an upcoming, fresh, American producer, as he shared similar views on music to mine. Being American, Delfeayo was able to give me a lot of insights into what the intentions of that music called jazz is and could.

“A good producer looks at the wider picture and allows the artist to create. But it’s changing a little.

“These days, in the absence of major companies supporting jazz artists, the role is often taken up by musicians either in the band or close to the artist, and in many cases by the record company owner.”

Pine’s own instrument, of course, is the saxophone.

“The saxophone is a very young instrument; its sound is not established, so you still find musicians approaching it in different ways. I was first inspired by the ska saxophonist Roland Alphonso and then in the UK by, among others, Ray Allen and Michael ‘Bami’ Rose. When I saw Grover Washington Jr. on TV, I was hooked.”

But his greatest respect, perhaps, is for Sidney Bechet (who duetted with Louis Armstrong in the early days and died in 1959), to whom he has dedicated Transition in Tradition.

“Many know that he was a great and important figure in jazz, but not many that he was the first, inspiring, giant of the saxophone. The soprano sax, which he played, gets confused with a metal clarinet, so I’m hoping, in bringing awareness of his inspiration to me, that others will embrace his contribution.”

I was interested in Courtney Pine’s answer to my last question — what inspires him to compose?

“My culture.”

That certainly won’t be the culture in which he was originally brought up.