Meeting Across the Water
Meeting Across the Water began as a seed of an idea when Eric Kilburn heard Fred Griffeth sing an unaccompanied first verse of "This Land Is Your Land" at a Mystic Chorale concert in November 2008, just two weeks after Obama's election. Jonathan Singleton was at the piano, and joined in on the second verse, along with Louise Grasmere in the soprano section, and the rest of the 200+ Chorale members. It was a beautiful and moving spectacle, and talking about it afterwards with Jonathan, he spoke for many hearts there when he observed that "After Fred got done with the opening verse, I thought, 'Well, that's it, we can all go home now.'"
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In early 2010, the four of us began a series of informal hangouts/rehearsals to see if there was some chemistry in this unlikely quartet. It wasn't always easy, but it was often fun, and we kept at it because we loved the music, and perhaps none of us had ever done anything quite like this before. This album is the result of this experiment, and we hope that it moves you, inspires you, or just gets you up to dance.
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We want to thank Nick Page, the Mystic Chorale, our families and friends, and the community of greater Boston and the world beyond that has supported us individually and collectively over the years. This is for you.
REVIEW:
"Meeting Across The Water"? What kind of name is that for a band? Well, when you consider they perform gospel with roots and rhythms from continents from Africa to North America plus a range of blues and pop made famous by both black and white artists, you get the idea.
This is music aimed at your heart. When you come to a concert like this, you leave your cultural identity at the door. You're going to be touched spiritually, and occasionally playfully. Disturbing headlines of the day will dissipate like early morning fog burned off by the sun. You will experience the power of music as a healing and nourishing balm."
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