'Tiny Sacred Gaps'. It's such a compelling and enigmatic title for an album and indicative of an artist who thrives on the little idiosyncratic wonders that are easy for people to look beyond.
Sarah Heneghan has cultivated a career thanks to her devotion of the proverbial tiny gaps. An inquisitive and boundless imagination that understands that free-thinking and progressive performances work astoundingly well with a little over-analysis of the delightful intricacies as well.
Heneghan's debut album 'Power Out' (2023) served as a brilliantly bold and dynamic example of this very ideal with the Welsh-born and Sheffield-based drummer's lone performance the focal point of this solo wonder. An inspired release that has since become a key component of a larger-scale drum and light project spawning a series of live performances that recontextualise the music into a complete sensory experience.
In many ways, it's the project that ultimately defines Heneghan's over-arching goals and perspectives when it comes to her art - her commitment to feeling the music she makes and her commitment to having the audience feel it as well. Dexter Gordon notably surmised jazz as the music of the body and potentially that notion is what Heneghan strives to tap into through her releases, live performances and community initiatives.
As an educator at the University of Sheffield's Department of Music, Heneghan also runs the community project Key of She for women and minoritized genders and leads the mentorship and support initiative, Footprints Artist Development Programme. An artist that seems never short on inspiration, it's an admirable quality to see Heneghan so passionate about instilling that same level of inspiration in others as well.
'Tiny Sacred Gaps' finds Heneghan seeking to recontextualise her music once again this time as part of a trio alongside trumpeter Charlotte Keeffe (Alex Ward, London Jazz Composers Orchestra) and pianist Ben Gaunt (Beyond Albedo, Emergence Collective). With Heneghan naturally credited for drums, the multi-faceted artist also assumes duties for guitar as well as excitedly tackling sampling and electronics for the project thus introducing more subtle and ethereal sonics in a similar vein to 'Power Out'.
In one of a series of Sarah's engaging YouTube Short videos, she reveals her penchant for artists mastering "the art of space, of slower playing and a focus on tone and nuance; […] the skill of what not to play". It does seem to be exemplary of the music that is conveyed throughout 'Tiny Sacred Gaps' whether it's the playful 'Wings and Locomotion', the rousing 'It Flows Back to You' or the exquisite introspection of 'Water Never Leaves', the album seems a celebration of the possibilities of restraint over filling every available space.
Even Heneghan's work as an educator and through the variety of community outreach projects she leads, in a way, is about creating space for other people to discover what they're capable of as well. There's a wonderful consistency to Sarah Heneghan's artistic outlook - whether exploring the possibilities of a solo drum performance, reimagining her compositions alongside fellow musicians or encouraging others to find confidence in their own creative voices, hers is an approach rooted in curiosity, generosity and a genuine appreciation for the possibilities of artistic expression.
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