Steve says:
This past Wednesday, Theo Travis’ Doubletalk quartet returned to Fleece Jazz after just less than two years to celebrate the release of Theo’s album ‘Secret Island’ from 1996. Back then, Travis’ band featured a musician with whom Travis would perform for many years after and still does to this day – guitarist John Etheridge. Travis and Etheridge tour together regularly with the pair co-leading the classic band Soft Machine which is widely regarded as the first progressive rock band.
Theo has been a regular visitor to Fleece Jazz since its early days at Boxford and in that time, he has developed a fond attachment to the club. We never tire of his unique brand of jazz steeped as it is in the style of progressive rock which, while emphasising complex compositions, experimental structures, and diverse influences, blends classical, jazz, and folk elements with rock instrumentation. This musical hybrid is mashed up further by the gospel-tinged grooves and bluesy adventures of the Doubletalk quartet while avoiding the sometimes-overblown excesses of prog-rock in its later period. I have a personal interest in making these connections: my own passion for jazz grew out of an obsession as a young teenager with (what has since come to be called) ‘progressive rock’ in the first half of the 1970s and it is as if Theo Travis has mapped out my own personal journey as a music fan. And if that sounds as pretentious as ‘prog rock’ itself, well so be it.
The first set, with the exception of one number, was devoted to selections from the classic ‘Secret Island’ album from 1996. Easing us in gently with the laid-back swaying tempo of ‘Lulworth Night’, Travis leads with a soft tone on tenor sax as he delivers the soulful melody which is mirrored by Pete Whittaker with a mellow feature on organ, the sax and keys blending perfectly. Eventually, Whittaker switches to an electric piano sound on the keys to improvise with a gently funky bubbling feature before Travis takes the lead once again on tenor. We didn’t have to wait too long for the pulse to be set racing: inspired by the novel by Iain Banks, ‘The Crow Road’ was a rollercoaster of themes much like the book itself. Blasting off with a caustic multi-faceted introduction, Travis continues to lead on tenor sax as the whole band collaborate to deliver this fast, furious and exhilarating number. A special mention to Nic France here for propelling the collective sound with a crisp, busy, Latin-tinged rhythm. Mike Outram amazed both audience and fellow band members who looked on in bemused wonder as he delivered the first of many spectacular features on electric guitar. Theo was not to be outdone and delivered a showstopping feature with an excoriating sound on tenor sax to bring the number to a fiery conclusion. Introducing the next number, ‘Full Moon Rising’, Theo described it as an example of ‘Jazz Noir’ or ‘Doomer Jazz’ and it seemed fitting for him to switch to soprano sax to weave a mysterious, haunting theme over the shuffling beat of France’s brushwork. Travis returned to tenor for ‘Details’ as Whittaker built on his thoughtful sax, seeming to switch back and forth from organ to Fender Rhodes on keys creating a delicious, other-worldly hybridised sound. Travis delivered some very ruminative noodling before Outram extracts some chilling chords from his guitar. The final ‘Secret Island’ track that we hear is ‘Three People’ which stood out for Travis’ incendiary tenor sax feature against Whittaker’s soulful chords on organ and France’s sympathetic drum grooves. The organist’s feature towards the end of this number illustrated his evolving style that switches effortlessly between genres. The finale had the whole band brewing up a storm with Outram’s guitar sound adding to the rousing conclusion. The first set concluded with trumpeter Nat Adderley’s ‘Sweet Emma’ which resembled some of Travis’ own compositions with its gospel-inspired groove.
The second set put the whole band back on more familiar musical territory with most numbers taken from the Doubletalk repertoire. Opener ‘Fire Mountain’ has the whole quartet hitting the ground running as organ and drums set the rhythm with guitar mirroring the runs on tenor sax with plenty of energy. Introducing the next number, Theo explained how he was drawn to music from an earlier period when growing up, and a favourite was the band ‘Traffic’ “because they included lots of sax and flute in their music”. We get to hear ‘Glad’ from Travis’ favourite Traffic album. ‘John Barleycorn Must Die’; here we are most definitely in progressive rock territory. By 1970 when the album was released, Traffic had diversified their sound by incorporating jazz, folk, rhythm and blues and other ethnic styles into their music. Pete Whittaker’s improvisation on organ here reminds us that Steve Winwood’s keyboards were central to Traffic’s sound from this era and made this a particular highlight of the set. Another number from the Doubletalk album, ‘Transgression’, is ‘Maryan’ which has Theo wielding the flute for the first time during the evening. Written partly by Robert Wyatt, a founder member of Soft Machine, it has a truly pastoral feel and a central folkish melody. Here it is given the Doubletalk progressive jazz treatment, with the combination of Theo’s overdubbed flute and Pete’s organ creating a pretty melody which soars to ever greater heights as Mike’s electric guitar comes in. The gospel-tinged organ sound of Pete Whittaker ushers in the next number, ‘Ascending’, which soon opens out for Theo Travis to weave his magic on soprano sax with the central, haunting melody followed by yet another stunning and enrapturing guitar solo from Mike Outram. ‘Song for Samuel’ is a joyous, vivacious tribute to Theo’s son which sees the bandleader return to his trusty tenor sax as he trades with Mike on electric guitar. The final number is announced surprisingly early but it soon becomes apparent that we are about to hear one of those epics so beloved of prog-rock bands. ‘A Place in the Queue’ was originally recorded by The Tangent on their eponymous album, taking up one whole side of vinyl at 25 minutes long. We get the abridged version that was recorded by Doubletalk for their second album, ‘Transgression’, which is just as breathtaking and mesmerising as the earlier version. A nod to the symphonic nature of progressive jazz-rock, once again featuring Pete Whittaker resplendent on keys as he mixes Larry Young-style modal jazz into the overall sound and he does so yet again on the much demanded encore, ‘The Relegation of Pluto’, fittingly introduced with otherworldly sounds from the organ which crystallised into a funky, swampy sound, before the sax, guitar and drums resumed.
Dave says:
I had the rare experience of being just an audience member, with a Canadian guest in tow. What an evening of stunning music and great memories! My guest was a rock bassist in his youth. He was entranced by the whole evening, but particularly in the skill of Pete on organ. Well, I always am in awe of him whenever he is with us.
Gerry was sound guy for this gig, and produced a beautiful sound under difficult conditions. One item: it is tough to keep your attention on the sound when smoke starts coming out of the guitar amp (he had a little one in the car, so that was ok).
The Gaz Hughes Trio, our gig on the 24th, is a treasure. Gaz, Andrzej Baranek and Gavin Barras are a formidable team. This will be an evening of passionate music and haunting instrumental songs from one of Britain’s top saxophonists and flautists and his band. See you there…
Take care,
Dave
THEO TRAVIS DOUBLETALK SETLIST,
FLEECE JAZZ 10/6/26
- Lulworth Night (Theo Travis)
- The Crow Road (Theo Travis)
- Full Moon Rising Pt. I (Theo Travis)
- Details (Theo Travis)
- Three People (Theo Travis)
- Sweet Emma (Nat Adderley)[followed by the interval]
- Fire Mountain (Theo Travis)
- Glad (Steve Winwood)
- Maryan (Robert Wyatt and Philip Catherine)
- Ascending (Theo Travis)
- Song for Samuel (Theo Travis)
- A Place in the Queue (Theo Travis and Andy Tillson)
- Encore: The Relegation of Pluto (Theo Travis)