Passages

Scott Burns comes out of Dexter mainly, playing late bop and swinging fiercely on Passages. He's got a nice deep tone and some fleet fingers, but he is always melodic and telling a story, not just honking over some Blues riffs. The trio is very nice behind him, and in particular Ron Perrillo is accomplished, with a bit of Silver in his veins, but he always knows how to get out of the way and let Burns steal the show. The compositions, all of them by Burns, are standard ABA forms, and have the feel of standards, even though they are not. Only on the last track, "Eddies in the Stream," does he get out of his bag and onto a modal Coltrane trip. While he does that well enough, so do a hundred other sax men, and Scott Burns is at his best when he sticks to that Dexter vibe. It is there that he seems joyful and playing with his heart, where he stays for most of Passages.