Brandon Lopez, Ingrid Laubrock and Tom Rainey: No Es La Playa

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 three musicians whose compelling individual voices are enhanced significantly through their joint explorations.

Laubrock and Rainey have honed their telepathic acumen so finely that they can do virtually anything, having worked with each other at least since Sleepthief (Intakt, 2008), with pianist Liam Noble. More recently, their collaborations have ranged from deconstructing classics from the American songbook alongside Drew Gress, Ralph Alessi and Jacob Sacks on Untucked in Hannover (Intakt, 2021) to their self-released Covid-era duets, the "Stir Crazy Series," during 2020 and 2021. Lopez, on the other hand, is still a relative newcomer, despite his mercurial ascent since 2016 to become one of the go-to bassists on the avant-garde scene, having played with everyone from Ivo Perelman to Nate Wooley to Dave Rempis and beyond. He is a fearsome force on his instrument, contributing a lot of the firepower on Old Smoke (Relative Pitch), a scorcher he recorded with baritone saxophonist Steve Baczkowski and drummer Chris Corsano in 2019. So, at first glance, one might expect similar fusillades here, although Rainey and Laubrock are rangy players with too many emotional and tonal registers to have this result in a straight-up free jazz freakout. Hence, this gives us an opportunity to hear more nuanced facets of Lopez's craft.

The slithering title track insinuates itself with a striking subtlety, as Laubrock's dusky tenor allows the three to settle into a mysterious mode, before Lopez' tentative walking lines begin to establish a pulse. There are plenty of push-pull dynamics on this thirteen- minute journey, with all three players getting opportunities to heighten or relax the tension of the music. Lopez brings a catalytic presence that works in close rapport with Rainey, producing a rhythmic fervor which propels the track continually forward. Lopez again plays a crucial role on "When the Island is a Shipwreck," with some upper-register arco work laying a foundation for a piece which builds its intensity inexorably, drawing out some of Laubrock's most ferocious playing midway through the cut. And the bassist's moody bowing on "Saturnian Staring" is ideal in exploring the piece's dark contours before some punchy exertions in tandem with Rainey once again inspire Laubrock's more demonstrative aspects.

As always, Laubrock is a superlative presence throughout, whether in the depths of her tenor or in the nimble flights she takes on her soprano; her sprightly lines on "No es la Playa" are particularly inspired, and her multiphonics toward the close of the track are just as effective. Her more abstract moves on "Little Distance Before" represent something of a departure on this release, given that most of her playing on the disc stays within more conventional tonal parameters, but Laubrock's choices are never less than interesting, and her interactions with her bandmates are consistently empathetic, especially valuable on a track relying upon a series of oblique gestures.

The album finishes memorably, with its shortest track, "The Black Bag of Want," fueled by Lopez's surging arco and a foreboding sense of menace which finds its release in a furious onslaught—the perfect conclusion to an album of top-notch improvisation. These players work exceptionally well together and, hopefully, they will not wait quite so long before offering up the next instalment.