COMPOSERS: The Other Side
LABELS: Bridge
PERFORMER: The Other Side: Hugh Burns (el. g), Theo Travis (ts, f, kbd), Dave Sturt (el. b), Harbans Srih (d)
CATALOGUE NO: BGRCD 12
For those who like their jazz between rock and a soft place, Dangerous Days could be quite a discovery. The quartet’s debut disc delivers seven bite-sized tracks of sparky, and often lyrical, jazz rock originals – with one to finish from Wayne Shorter. Travis and Burns share the honours up front, the latter’s feisty guitar breaks showing derring-do without too much unnecessary heroism.
Travis, a terrific young horn player who has yet to gain the recognition he deserves, plays with poise and funky vigour in equal measure. An agile fretless bass and punchy time-keeping from the drums maintain the momentum throughout. If The Other Side is tantalisingly on the short side it is sufficiently substantial musically to whet the appetite for more. Garry Booth