Following the popular and critically acclaimed Buddhist Rain and Making Baby
Float, Norman
Meehan and Hannah Griffin teamed up with saxophonist Hayden Chisholm for this
third
instalment in their New Zealand poetry series. The relaxed serendipitous style
of Norman and
Hannah fits Hayden like a glove. A musician of remarkably understated
confidence and
sensitivity, Hayden's wonderfully nuanced phrases float effortlessly around
the restrained
sensitivity of Norman and Hannah.
This is music born of years of dedication to craft and commitment to
musical
integrity. As Norman and Hannah proved with their previous releases, and as Bill
Manhire
points out in his perceptive liner notes, it takes great skill and humility to
ensure that the
original poetry can freely speak when it would be easy to overwhelm it with
music. Instead,
these three fine musicians have created a framework in which sound and text
enjoy a
harmonious artistic partnership.
“I had mixed feelings when Norman first got in touch about setting my
poems. Didn't
they have music already? But I liked what he did with them enormously –
I felt that he had
somehow found new cadences and melodies in the words that were as true as
anything I felt
was there originally. And I loved Hannah's voice.” – Bill
Manhire