Hayden Chisholm might be a native of Taranaki, but he has made his home in Europe for 30 years. Since moving to Germany in 1993 to study at the Cologne College of Music, he has performed in Europe, Asia, the Americas, Africa and of course—when the chance arises—around Aotearoa. That opportunity has arisen again this summer when he will perform around New Zealand with his local group Unwind. Joined by sympathetic New Zealand musicians Paul Dyne (bassist with Malcolm McNeill, Rodger Fox, Sustenance) and Julien Dyne (drums with Fat Freddy’s Drop, Ladi6) along with pianist/composer Norman Meehan, Hayden will be performing original music that might know about jazz, but also dances with Indian raga, chamber music, and folk traditions.
Although he has purposely kept a low profile in the last few years, preferring to spend time with his family in Belgrade where he now lives—the pandemic may have been a factor, too—he has built a reputation as one of the most individual and outstanding voices on his instrument worldwide and has gathered a collection of important prizes and accolades. He has also been active as a producer and festival director and worked hard in promoting young talent throughout Europe. His yearly masterclasses in Greece and Germany have come to attract some the world’s best young saxophone talents from across the globe.
While Hayden may have lived away from Aotearoa for a long while, he still feels his music is connected to the country. He said ‘A good half of my life I have been based in Europe, but I still feel very much like a New Zealander. You carry that with you wherever you go. I think the strongest underlying current you take with you, as a New Zealander, is the feeling of the land you get growing up here: being bare-foot on the grass; the colours and the smells. That connection to the land is a very powerful thing, and while that will not necessarily pull you back here, it will define you in a strong way.’
The group perform around New Zealand this February in a tour supporting their new album Daylight, released by Rattle Records. At the conclusion of the tour Hayden will perform a new setting of the Eucharist Service at the Wellington Cathedral of St Paul on February 26.
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