Hayden Chisholm Solo 

In my solo concerts I embark on a new journey each and every time. I oftentimes combine saxophone, sruti box, and voice and have played from a few minutes to 16 hours. The themes and central focus points are different depending on the context and the space but the essence of getting as close as possible to the core of the sound and finding something new each time is always something I always strive for.

Hayden Chisholm Trio

Over the years the line up of my trio as changed and I even go old school playing with local rhythm sections when the gig calls for it. I have a large song book and have recorded a couple of straight up trio records which you can here on the releases page. Solidly in the Saxophone Trio tradition, it is the space to explore lines, and timbre in a stripped down jazz setting. check my solo releases for various trio albums form over the years.

Medno Roso

This project with a Balkan A-capella choir grew out of my time in Serbia when I was searching for authentic local music forms. Luckliy I encountered some wonderful singers and together we began to play together. The group really formed when I invited them to the Cologne Jazz Week and we were joined on the organ by Kit Downes. Something magical happened that night and luckily it wad recorded and released on Red Hook records.

Kodaly Reframed 

Together with the sensational Polish cellist Susanne Szambelan, offer a new take on the seminal cello Sonata by Kodaly by wrapping the original movements with improvisations based on themes from the work. We have successfully toured New Zealand with the piece and received standing ovations, it was one of the most memorable tours of my life. 

The Music of Gurdjieff Reconsidered

Together with Austrian Pianist Philip Zoubek we have created a program with radically new interpretations of the music of Armenian mystic Gurdjieff. Jan 1 2027 will see the release of our debut CD and it is a real cracker. It has been almost 10 years now since began to collect and reimagine his compositions and the journey continues.

Hayden Chisholm’s Kinetic Band 

This is a Quartet formation and features some of my dearest old colleagues with Achim Kaufman on Piano, Petter Eldh on Bass, and Jonas Burgwinkel on drums. They are all formidable composers, soloists, and band leaders in their own right and my compositions aim to set them loose at what they do best and create something new each time we hit the stage. 

Unwind

This is my New Zealand-based band and we have been touring Aotearoa once a year for the last 8 years or so. We have recorded already several albums for the New Zealand label Rattle which you can find here as well as some more info about the band. It has a distinct New Zealand flavour to it, with much of the repertoire composed by Norman Meehan. We began as a trio but are sometimes aumented with Julian Dyne on drums, the son of our Bassist Paul Dyne.

Echo _ von _ Nichts

This ensemble features a unique line up of Soprano voice, saxophone, and crystal sound bowels. I was swept away for the first time when I heard what Pina Ruecker does with these bowels which is something beyond words. She has a specific sensibility with sound and has taken up as one of her goals to reinterpret contemporary works on her choosen instrument(s). With the solo voice as well we are able to tackle works from Cage, Scelsi, Wolff, and we have also commissioned new works by Lingens and Friebel. Here is a work we performed by the Australian composer Tamara Friebel.