The fusion of poetry with jazz has been like a furtive undertow in the music's development. The idea appears and reappears at intervals and there are distinguished exponents of this sub-genre who have their enthusiastic adherents. Hitherto I have not been among them, but when musicians of the calibre represented here align themselves to the idea it has to be taken seriously. The first thing to say is that this is a thought-through concept rather than a series of random reactions with Garfitt declaiming his lines, poem by poem, of which there are six, in a sing-song manner that lacks the level of projection and animation needed to match the excellence of the musical passages created to complement his words. His poems and these performances celebrate the life and work of Mary Webb (1881-1927), a poet and romantic novelist of the early 20th century whose work was largely set in Shropshire (thank you, Wikipedia!) and the complete texts are included in the booklet. Their quality is evident, even if Garfitt's delivery leaves me cold. Not so the music, which is principally the work of Iles and quite beautiful, even if the response to ‘The Haunting’ does prompt some pretty weird noises. All concerned who solo do so with distinction, especially Sharp and Pearce, but it's the voicings, jaunty or elegiac, that please the most, underpinning the words and their sentiments with commendable clarity and richness throughout.