CD Review: Nikki Iles/Roger Garfitt - In All my Holy Mountain

(Review by Lance).

I sometimes think that jazz and poetry is a bit like drinking whiskey and ice cream soda. Both delightful in their own way but as a combo...?

There have been exceptions - Ken Rattenbury's interpretation of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner being one and some of Dr. Keith Armstrong's work in this field is also worth mentioning. However, by and large, my preference is for one without the other.

Then this came along - 'palm this off on Ann' I thought as I reluctantly put it on the player.

I'd never heard of Mary Webb which maybe isn't surprising as she died in 1927 but, listening to Garfitt reading her poetry, I found beauty in both the spoken word and the effective and compatible musical setting.

Westerley

It begins as a breath

a softness in the air

over the oakwoods

the first dustings of blue

brings a sea-change

the luminous shadow

of an Atlantic calm

close faraway light

catches the drift of

the stream, the wooded tumps,

rephrasing them in blues

finer than woodsmoke

takes the breath away

over the hillfort

in a blue that lifts

like a curlew's call.

The music does justice. Supports without intruding whilst providing the poetic, unspoken, sounds of jazz in the solos that pepper the words, the compositions of Iles the emotive voices of the horns, the direction of Williams who commissioned the original work in 1998 and the sympathetic readings by Garfitt make this an original and inspiring work.

Lance.

Available www.restringingthelyre.wordpress.com (£7.50 post free!).

Roger Garfitt (poet); John Williams (MD, baritone, bass clarinet, recorder); Nikki Iles (composer, piano, accordion); Dick Pearce (trumpet, flugel); Pete Hurt (alto, soprano, bass clarinet); Bob Sydor (tenor, flute); Karen Sharp (tenor, flute); Dave Warren (guitar, violin); Tom Mark (bass); Trevor Tompkins (drums, perc.)