Ninna Milner - Songs for Sentient Beings (2016)

I’m so pleased to be reviewing this CD on International Women’s Day, as it’s an excellent example of what women can achieve with music. I was concerned when I read on the publicity sheet that the album was ‘for and to the sentient beings of our planet’, which sounded a bit pompous to my ears, but there is nothing pompous at all about the CD, which gives us fine jazz-influenced music and lyrics with an original, quirky and sometimes moving twist. For example, there are 2 songs about contemporary concerns: Dear Humans deals with climate change and the earth is speaking to us: ‘I’m as old as the hills/ and forever your mother/but your way of living kills/You need me, sisters and brothers/It seems that you don’t bother."
When The Boat Comes In addresses the issue of the immigrants coming by sea, and compares boats entering safe tourist harbours such as Dublin with boats of immigrants coming to other parts of Europe. The rest of the songs deal with life and love in general, with titles such as Let Me Be Your Favourite Song; Back To Wellington; Wednesday In October; Hoi An; That’s What He Said; This Too Shall Pass; Such A Sunday; Paris On My Tongue and a booklet of lyrics is supplied. Ms Milner’s voice is gentle-toned and sweet, every word is clear, and the musicians supply effective solos and they know how to swing when appropriate. This Too Shall Pass gives us lovely riffs on the violin, and on the song about immigrants, the organ plays in gospel style. The accordion goes Latin on Such A Sunday.
There isn’t much information given about these two talented women, except to say that they met in that place of significance for women, a toilet queue!