Subtractions
New Focus, 2022
8/10
The esteemed percussionist Greg Stuart brings along Sarah Hennies and Michael Pisaro-Liu for these solo pieces that embraces virtuosity, vulnerability and dialogue into the 3 meticulous works.
“Border Loss” leads the listen with Hennies handling many different percussive noisemakers that manipulates timbre, atypical rhythmic patterns and higher pitches amid the angular, sometimes dense and acutely irregular demeanor.
Pisaro-Liu handles both “Side By Side I” and “Side By Side II”, and it features bass drum on cymbals for the first half, where scraping and friction are implemented precisely, and the back half showcases vibraphone and glockenspiel for the more melodic gestures that ring in a meditative fashion.
A very exciting virtuosic anti-virtuoso affair, Stuart’s vision is one that’s experimental, sharply focused and occasionally subtly political in its creative expanse.
Travels well with: Departure Duo- Immensity Of; Peter Gilbert- Burned Into The Orange