INTAKT RECORDS – REVIEWS

INGRID LAUBROCK
MONOCHROMES

Intakt CD 411 / 2023

Cover Web:INGRID LAUBROCK. MONOCHROMES. Intakt Records CD 411

 

 


Always at the vanguard of musical creation, the trailblazing saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Ingrid Laubrock embarked on yet another successful experiment, resulting in a singular piece lasting nearly 40 minutes. This thought-provoking new chapter is inherently devoted to improvisation but incorporates pre-recorded tape pieces (monochromes) that assist in shaping off-kilter backdrops to be explored by her assembled quartet, comprising the adventurous saxophonist Jon Irabagon, avant-garde harpist Zeena Parkins, and longtime collaborator and drummer Tom Rainey.

Filipe Freitas, Jazz Trail, September 21 2023 (EN)


Saxophonist & composer Ingrid Laubrock and her partner, drummer Tom Rainey self-released an ongoing series of spontaneous duets, the Stir Crazy Episodes, recorded during the pandemic lockdown. They were most likely a kind of pressure release mechanism for both artists.

Mark Corroto, All About Jazz, October 13 2023 (EN)


Wenn man beim Anhören dieses 39 Minuten dauernden Stückes ein gewisses Unwohlsein verspürt, dann ist dies von der Komponistin voll und ganz beabsichtigt. Ingrid Laubrock reagiert damit auf den Zustand der heutigen Welt, auf die Ohnmacht, derer wir in solch turbulenten Zeiten erliegen.

Rudolf Amstutz, Jazz N'More Magazine, Switzerland, October 2023 (DE)


Improvisatie staat centraal bij deze nieuwe opname van Ingrid Laubrock. Een bijzondere vorm van impro trouwens omdat haar muzikanten weliswaar de volledige vrijheid kregen maar toch waren er enige aanwijzingen aan de hand van een soort “graphic score”. Daarnaast zijn er eerder opgenomen en fragmenten van Nate Wooley, Adam Matlock en Tom Rainey die door de saxofoniste volledig naar haar eigen inspiratie bewerkt en in elkaar geknutseld werden (de “monochromes”).

Georges Tonla Briquet, Jazz'halo, November 2023 (DE)


Con sax tenore e soprano e la sua visione aperta a 360° dell'avant-jazz Ingrid Laubrock è da anni una delle voci più interessanti della scena: lo conferma questo lavoro, gravido di bellezza selvatica e austera, in quartetto con Jon Irabagon al sopranino, Zeena Parkins all'arpa elettri- ca e Tom Rainey alla batteria. Riuscito innesto di improvvisazioni su fi-xed media, il disco va ascoltato ad alto volume e tutto d'un fiato, come consigliato anche nel libretto.

Nazim Comunale, Blow Up Magazine, November 2023 Italy (IT)


Die 1970 in Deutschland geborene Jazzmusikerin Ingrid Laubrock wurde bereits als Kind an die Musik herangeführt (Klavierunterricht, Chormusik), aber in der Zeit als sie in Großbritannien lebte (1989 - 2008), wandte sie sich dem Saxofon zu. 2008 zog die Protagonistin abermals um, in die USA, nach Brooklyn. Dort gründete sie verschiedene Bands und spielte mit zahlreichen bekannten Musikern*innen zusammen, von Kenny Wheeler und Billy Cobham über Siouxsie and the Banshees und Norma Winstone zu David Liebman oder Lol Coxhill. Zeitgenössische klassische Musik praktiziert sie ebenfalls mit dem Continuum Ensemble.

Wolfgang Giese, Musik an sich, November 2023 (DE)


A single thirty-nine-minute track where creative music heavyweights – Laubrock, Jon Irabagon, Zeena Parkins, and Tom Rainey perform atop four tape pieces. The tape pieces build upon the leader’s compositions, written in both traditional Western and graphic notation, and include Nate Wooley’s performance of twenty-nine trumpet lines in a manner inspired by Ligeti’s Atmosphéres and a duet between Laubrock and JD Allen inspired by artist Harry Bertoia’s somambiant sculptures. The intersection between live quartet and prerecorded blueprint is fascinating textures frequently shifting into unpredictable directions.

Rob Shepherd’s Favorite Albums Of 2023, PostGenre Media, December 07 2023 (EN)


De monochromes waar-van sprake zijn vooraf opgenomen stukken muziek, bruitage, geluid, die dienen als achter-grond om de improvisa-tie van de muzikanten de vrije loop te kunnen laten gaan. Deze plaat werd op die manier één track van rond de 40 minuten, een collage van gelui-den, aangevuld met het bevreemdende en confronterende improvisatiewerk van de muzikanten, die hun instrument zowel conventioneel als onconventioneel behan-delen in de exploratie van die backdrops.

Jazz N' Mo Magazine, December 2023 (BE)


Last year was a good one for Ingrid Laubrock. She ended 2023 in a saxophone duet with JD Allen as a part of Sculpting Sound, a program of improvised duos with sculptures. (The set of six duets can still be streamed via the Pyroclastic Records website.) She also released a duo with Cecilia Lopez’ electronics, did a double duo album with drummer Tom Rainey and Dutch power couple Ab Baars (reeds) and Ig Henneman (viola) and recorded and toured with Myra Melford’s exceptional Fire & Water Quintet.

Kurt Gottschalk, The New York City Jazz Record, December 2023 USA (EN)


Now an established luminary of the Brooklyn avant-garde, tenor/soprano saxophonist and composer Laubrock here uses taped pieces of the likes of trumpeter Nate Wooley and percussionist Tom Rainey as the starting point for a startling series of compositions. Rainey, Zeena Parkins (electric harp) and Jon Irabagon (sopranino sax) aid her in completing a satisfyingly successful mission.

Kevin Whitlock, Jazzwise Magazine UK, February 2024 (EN)


Well, it looks like we survived January. And what have we got to show for it? I'll tell you — some of the finest new jazz releases around! If you're not impressed by frequent mentionee Ingrid Laubrock's Monochromesi, we suggest you try Emil Ingmar's new celestially-inspired album Pleiades. How about some sultry vocals from Mette Juul on Celeste or Here It Is, the latest scorcher from Charles Owen? You could even run wild with Reinhardt Winkler on Drop Me Off. The sky really is the limits!

Barney Whittaker, Presto Music, February 02 2024 (EN)


Monochromes bringt meines Erachtens ein Dilemma mit sich. Musik sollte ihre Wirkung auch ohne Erklärung des Prozesses entfalten. Um dem knapp vierzigmi-nütigen, pausenlosen Werk nahezukommen (und wirklich gerecht zu werden), ist es fast unerlässlich, das ausgetüftelte Konzept zu durchschauen.

Arne Schumacher, Jazzthetik Magazine, February 2024 (DE)


Aux différentes et nombreuses facettes d’Ingrid Laubrock il faudra avec ces Monochromes en rajouter une nouvelle : celle de la musicienne expérimentale. Ici, bandes enregistrées et quartet (Ingrid Laubrock, Jon Irabagon, Zeena Parkins, Tom Rainey) se rejoignent, s’entrechoquent, s’opposent et, toujours, tissent une prégnante étrangeté.

Luc Bouquet, Jazzin, October 18 2023 (FR)


“I OFTEN WRITE from that place where I’m trying to find the stillness within myself, at least, enough stillness to come up with ideas that exist on a deeper level, rather than just something that flutters by. That is ideally the place that I’m writing from, my own relatively quiet place.” Ingrid Laubrock is talking about her 2023 album The Last Quiet Place, which takes its name from ecological writer Elizabeth Kolbert’s proposition that in the Anthropocene, the last quiet place is within oneself. From that place of stillness, Ingrid Laubrock has brought forth music that is both beautiful and strange, underpinned by a compositional sensibility that is as imaginative as it is rigorous.

Stewart Smith, Worldwide Magazine by We Jazz, July 2024 (EN)


Via de ene drummer uit New York, Ches Smith, beland ik bij de ander: Tom Rainey. De ideale sideman, internationaal geliefd. Ook in Europa, of wellicht moet ik – als ik naar de vier albums die in de komende twee recensies centraal staan – wel concluderen: vooral in Europa. De van oorsprong Duitse saxofoniste en levenspartner Ingrid Laubrock mag dan inmiddels Amerikaans staatburger zijn, dat geldt niet voor Yannick Peeters en Stefan Schulze van wie hier morgen recente albums aan bod komen. Maar eerst het team Laubrock – Rainey. Op het eind vorig jaar verschenen ‘Mononchromes’ horen we ze in gezelschap van saxofonist Jon Irabagon, harpiste Zeena Parkins, trompettist Nate Wooley en accordeonist Adam Matlock. Met die laatste twee is bovendien iets bijzonders aan de hand: Laubrock nam de muziek van te voren op en bracht het digitaal in tijdens de uiteindelijke opnames. Samen met een aantal ‘Sonambient Sculptures’ van Harry Bertoia. Verder kwam deze maand ‘Brink’ uit waarop we Laubrock en Rainey samen horen.

Ben Taffijn, Nieuwe Noten, August 14 2024 (NL)


 

 

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