Sistering [LP]

THE SISTERING, four powerhouse women (with awards and accolades too numerous to mention) come together to share their version of "sistering" through sound vibration, words of wisdom and melodic dance. They offer an elegant and generous recording that will make you feel things you may not be expecting. Through their stories of love, loss and life lessons, they present raw emotion with "in your face" truth and honesty. "The Sistering" has something for everyone."Terri Lyne Carrington (from the liner notes)Just as the construction term "sistering" involves strengthening a beam by adding another alongside it, fastening them together, these four vocal powerhouses have joined forces to create a new musical collective, The Sistering. All North Carolina-based, these longtime friends-Lois Deloatch, Nnenna Freelon, Lenora Zenzalai Helm, and Kate McGarry-have collaborated on their forthcoming album, The Sistering. The 12-track recording features original compositions that blend jazz, ballads, gospel, and folk, reflecting on themes of life, family, and loss.For each artist, this collaboration has been a deeply meaningful experience. Deloatch describes the project as "art, life, truth, and clarity," a coming together of "real friends" to "write and sing, and remember and dream and celebrate each other." Freelon calls it "the most soul satisfying artistic connection" she's had in a long time, noting that the "creative friction" challenges each artist while pushing, pulling, and holding them up. Helm feels The Sistering has helped her embrace sisterhood in a new way, and grow as a creative woman. McGarry adds that the project has been a "container of creativity, of laughter, of support and expansion, unlike anything I've ever experienced." She says it started with friends around good food and wine, but quickly evolved into sharing "heartaches, hopes, joys, tears and speaking our deepest creative dreams into being.