by Lahri Bond

      On her journey she sang with such vocal luminaries as Christine Primrose, Peggy Seeger, The Black (Family) Brothers, Kyoko Fujita, Julia Tsitsi Chigamba, and the Georgia Sea Island Singers. 

     The songs are cleverly sequenced so the listener can easily see the connections and cross-influences of the various styles of music:  Scottish waulking songs are followed by Irish didding, Appalachian chin music and Scottish puirt-a-beul.  Elsewhere, Southern field hollers and slave songs are situated next to Zimbabwean harvest chants, Ghana coming-of-age songs, and Georgia Sea Island fishing and play songs, while Inuit throat singing leads to Thai children's songs, Tuvan throat singing, and Japanese folk song. 

     Swan sometimes duets, and at other times she is part of the chorus.  Often she acts as translator or vocal counter-balancer, adding connecting shades to the overall pattern.  In all cases her strong, malleable voice lends an interesting thread of consistency, which makes this CD a splendid showcase for the wonders of the human voice.

    Extensive liner notes and photos from her travels complement the experience, while more detailed information on the songs and the singers can be accessed on her website.