If any of these three names -- Whitney Johnson, Lia Kohl, and Macie Stewart -- are on a record, it's one worth listening to. When these three musicians combine forces, the results will be very special indeed.
Following last year's single, the full-length BODY SOUND is now here. The material here, anchored by viola and voice from Whtiney Johnson, cello and voice from from Lia Kohl, and violin and voice from Macie Stewart, is innovative and bold. Opener "dawn | pulse" unfolds with precision and grace. The lines of the piece are carried forward on the strings here, with hints of voices pulling things ever onwards. Even better is the Michael Nyman-ish " laundry | blood" where plucks on the cello lead to sonorous notes held until the tension rises. It is, like the best material on BODY SOUND, music which is both beautiful and a little bit unnerving. There's nervous energy in "burning | counting (sleeping)", a cut which dispels the deliberate pace of the earlier tracks on the record. And, a more modest force propels the chamber music of "paper folding | disappearing", another higlight on BODY SOUND.
On first listen, this is austere music. None of these musicians would likely deny that. It is, however, music so precise that a warm humanity seeps through the tracks here as we hear the careful choices being made by the players, and take in what's offered and consider what's being held back. The presence of empty spaces only strengthens the notes which arrive after. And Whitney Johnson, Lia Kohl, and Macie Stewart have made something really special here in this record which bridges free jazz, found sound, and a kind of naturalistic way of grasping with silence and sound. BODY SOUND is stark in its power, and reassuringly iconoclastic in approach. Highly recommended.
BODY SOUND by Whitney Johnson, Lia Kohl, and Macie Stewart is out now via International Anthem.
[Photo: Leah Wendzinski]