THEO TRAVIS

Songs From The Apricot Tree ETHERSOUNDS

Reed it and weep: serene sounds from woodwind wizard.

Asignifier of quality as a collaborator with everyone from David Gilmour to David Sylvian (and currently a member of Soft Machine), Theo Travis also leads his own jazz outfit. The saxophonist and flautist’s 11th solo album sees him exploring his fascination with the Armenian duduk, an ancient instrument made from the wood of the apricot tree. That might sound esoteric and impenetrable, but the music on here isn’t. His instincts highlight the beauty and wonder within the most abstract structures.

As such, this mixture of his own compositions and fresh versions of other artists’ titles he’s worked on places delight above difficulty. It takes chutzpah to revisit Sylvian’s Brilliant Trees, but with

Big Big Train’s David Longdon bravely tackling the vocal, Travis coaxes out new perspectives. Gong’s Magdalene and Peter Gabriel’s A Feeling Begins flicker and flow, and Jakko Jakszyk sings the

Travis composition She’s Coming Home. The Shadow Of Your Smile may be an old chestnut, but with John

Etheridge on guitar, the duduk finds its bright corners. The Chinese associate the apricot with medicine and this is balm for the soul.