The Liminality of Her

The Liminality of Her is harpist/composer Amanda Whitings debut full-length on First Word Records after three with Jazzman that included the acclaimed Lost in Abstraction. In 2023, she joined Cardiff-based DJ/producer Don Leisure for Beyond the Midnight Sun, a criminally underheard jazz, beats, and soul EP. Whiting leads a quintet that includes bassist Aidan Thorne, drummer Jon Reynolds, and percussionist Mark OConnor. Flutist Chip Wickham appears on one track, and two others feature Brighton-based vocalist PEACH. The originals-laden, ten-song, 35-minute set was recorded in Wales with producer Chris Cracknell. The Liminality of Her adds to the musical ideas Whiting put forth on Lost in Abstraction. Her sound is spacious, harmonically rich, and saturated in subtle, funky grooves. You wont hear the glissando swirl of Alice Coltranes modal impressionism here; instead, youll hear the melodic influence of Dorothy Ashby. Opener "Finding a Way" is less than a minute long and offers a sumptuous aural glimpse of Whitings elegant blend of breakbeat and rock rhythms. Her articulation of the poignant melody is framed by Thornes funky electric bass. As the trio ratchet up the dynamics, Whiting begins strumming the changes like a guitarist. "Intertwined" features PEACH up front. The post-bop interplay between bass and harp in the intro is offset by double-timed, syncopated rhythms from OConnor and Reynolds as Whiting then prods the singer. Modal and lyric harmony entwine in her approach, wedding jazz and R&B, and offering PEACH a fingerpopping foundation with room to move. "Liminal" is a glorious exercise in lithe, funky grooves with bubbling hand drums around the kit drum, as Whiting lays down a rippling lyric in call-and-response with the rhythm section. "Nomad" commences in sparse abstraction but its lush, labyrinthine melody and polyrhythms -- courtesy of OConnors hand drums, shakers, and more -- exist in a bardo between flamenco and post-bop. Its followed by the poignant, contemplative duet "Alchemy." Whiting is joined by Thorne playing arco deep in the instruments lower register. He and Wickham introduce "Waiting to Go," a lilting ballad with detailed interplay between flute and harp as the rhythm section haunts the backdrop with whispering fills. "No Turning Back" is a cooker. Led by OConnors furious hand drums and Reynolds kit, Thorne introduces Whiting, who revels in a sweeping melody articulated in assertive yet elegant call-and-response atop Latin and Brazilian rhythms. PEACH rejoins the crew for the nocturnal, sensual "Rite of Passage," an exercise in contemporary jazz and soul before the brief, swinging "Feels So Far Away" emerges with Whitings deep blue lead lines before it whispers off into the ether. Whiting has reached a level of confidence on The Liminality of Her that matches her virtuosic playing. Her compositions reveal that the harp flourishes in ensemble interplay more than it does in a soloists setting. Her work always anticipates and balances individual and collective expression with canny improvisation. ~ Thom Jurek