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Ingrid Laubrock: The Last Quiet Place
by Troy Dostert
When saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock finds herself in her comfort zone, it is typically in small group formations--often just duos or trios--which allow her unparalleled skills as an improviser to shine most brightly. However, listeners are always in for a special treat when she ventures out into less familiar terrain, especially with larger ensembles. On recordings such as Contemporary Chaos Practices (Intakt, 2018) or Dreamt Twice, Twice Dreamt (Intakt, 2020), Laubrock takes advantage of the opportunity to develop her ambitious compositional ...
Continue ReadingCory Smythe: Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
by John Sharpe
The startling molten sounds which open pianist Cory Smythe's Smoke Gets In Your Eyes signal that this will be no ordinary journey. On the first four cuts he draws on a stellar 11-strong squad which matches leading cutting edge figures such as saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, trumpeter Peter Evans and cellist Tomeka Reid, with colleagues from the International Contemporary Ensemble, hailed as America's foremost new-music group by The New Yorker, such as violinist Josh Modney and sadly deceased saxophonist Ryan Muncy, ...
Continue ReadingSatoko Fujii: Hyaku: One Hundred Dreams
by Dan McClenaghan
Country music artist Merle Haggard (1937 -2016) released 66 studio albums in his day, along with five instrumental recordings and several live and compilation discs. When asked in a late-career interview if his upcoming album was a good one, he answered (paraphrasing). “I don't know. I've made so many I don't know if the next one's any good or not." He was probably pulling the interviewer's leg. It is hard to imagine an artist presenting a new work ...
Continue ReadingMyra Melford: For The Love Of Fire And Water
by John Sharpe
Inspired by artist Cy Twombly, pianist Myra Melford has produced a superb album which combines notated signposts with unbridled exchanges. She's helped by an all star agglomeration comprising some of New York's most accomplished instrumentalists: guitarist Mary Halvorson, saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, cellist Tomeka Reid and drummer Susie Ibarra. As might be expected of the city's brightest talents, their paths have crossed on multiple occasions, but never in this particular permutation until they appeared as part of a Melford residency at ...
Continue ReadingIngrid Laubrock and Andy Milne: Fragile
by Troy Dostert
In 2019, tenor & soprano saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock began for Intakt Records a series of duo recordings with leading pianists . The first two instalments paired her with Aki Takase (Kasumi) and Kris Davis (Blood Moon), both sensible choices as Takase and Davis have long been fixtures in avant-garde jazz, traveling in the same circles as Laubrock and with similar stylistic proclivities. This makes the third offering, with Andy Milne, a bit more interesting. Milne is certainly unafraid of adventure, ...
Continue ReadingMyra Melford's Fire and Water Quintet: For The Love Of Fire And Water
by Mark Corroto
While the now infamous quote “writing about music is like dancing about architecture" may befit jazz criticism, writing music about painting is actually achievable. Proof of that is pianist Myra Melford's For the Love of Fire and Water; her quintet sets out to perform music inspired by the American painter Cy Twombly's (1928-2011) Bay of Gaeta drawings “For the Love of Fire and Water." Melford has taken inspiration from visual artists in the past, specifically on her solo ...
Continue ReadingBrandon Lopez, Ingrid Laubrock and Tom Rainey: No Es La Playa
by Troy Dostert
Saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and drummer Tom Rainey have made dozens of recordings together, both as a duo and with countless others. But when they teamed up with bassist Brandon Lopez for the first time in 2017, for a live show at Barbès in Brooklyn, all three players recognized that there was something special about their collective alchemy. Although it took a while, the documentation of that partnership is finally here, with No Es La Playa providing a scintillating encounter with ...
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