Nia Lynn (voice), Gareth Lockrane (flutes), Ross Stanley (piano)
A true ‘musician’s vocalist,’ Lynn and her Bannau Trio have been quietly ploughing their own path in the contemporary chamber jazz world since 2005, while drawing heavy influence from the singer songwriter tradition which ties in with Nia’s love of lyric craft and poetry (she is also a published poet).
Nia Lynn writes:
“Bannau’ is the welsh word for beacon, the dictionary definition of which is ‘a signal to help fix a position, a fire or light to help to guide in rough weather or on the rough sea’. The idea for the Bannau Trio was born when the three of us were literally at sea on the Pacific, adrift in many ways, but brought together in a search for that fixed point where the musical conversation meets.
Like the views on the Brecon Beacons where I was born, the music tries to reflect an open, barren, placeless-ness where the mind can wander and the imagination can stretch, yet where reassurance can be found in a light that can guide you safely home. Norma Winstone’s ‘Somewhere Called Home’ (ECM – Norma Winstone, Tony Coe, John Taylor) was the seminal album and inspiration for me to start this trio, and it is the greatest gift to have Norma join us on this album.
The freedom to roam with melody, time, and texture, to draw on the influence of folk, jazz, and original works, and to break the expectations of musical and lyrical roles, is a premise for the trio’s interaction and repertoire choices. Through the years the Bannau Trio have been exactly this kind of beacon to me – guiding, and shedding light on a creative journey. We hope that our listeners will join us on our journey, following their own expansive imaginations and allowing fantasy to wander freely.”