She's a German-born, now American-based saxophonist with bold ideas, a shining tone and a penchant for instrumental combinations as attractive as they are unusual - in this case, including tuba, kora, electronics and glockenspiel. Add Tyshawn Sorey on drums and Craig Taborn on piano, and you've got a surefire winner.

Saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock presents her most ambitious and thorny batch of compositions yet

Over the past decade, saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock has increasingly used composition to provoke and organize adventurous improvisation. She made a major leap on the knotty 2016 album Serpentines (Intakt). The musical personalities she’s assembled, and the unusual timbres they contribute, represent compositional decisions just as profound as anything she’s put down on the page. The band combines her own grainy, jagged tenor and soprano saxophones, the rubbery low end of tuba player Dan Peck, the skittering intervals of pianist Craig Taborn, the glistening harplike fragments of koto player Miya Masaoka, the fractured throb of drummer Tyshawn Sorey, the cleanly articulated smears and tart curlicues of trumpeter Peter Evans (a guest on the album), and the splintery, refracted signal processing of laptop improviser Sam Pluta. Laubrock’s writing, as strong as it is, never prevents her group from exercising its own creativity. Both parts of “Pothole Analytics,” for example, consist of lean, abstract composed phrases, but they’re collaged spontaneously by the musicians so that the overlap among them shifts with every performance. The corkscrew assemblage of “Squirrels,” on the other hand, makes Laubrock’s hand more audible; its slaloming complexity recalls the book for her group Anti-House as well as Tim Berne’s recent work, and requires each player to navigate its breathless twists and turns with careful precision. The busy arrangement seems to throw off charged solos like electrical arcs, though it’s not all constant motion: in one moment of strange repose, Pluta manipulates Masaoka’s glassy lines to create hall-of-mirrors effects. The darting zigzags of the title track (similar in feel to “Squirrels,” and in fact to most of Serpentines) and the rustling, meditative ambience of “Chip in Brain” give the ensemble a variety of ways to prove it can match Laubrock’s rigor. In the sextet’s Chicago debut (Evans isn’t a member), pianist Kris Davis and drummer Tom Rainey sub for Taborn and Sorey.

https://chicagoreader.com/music/saxophonist-ingrid-laubrock-presents-her-most-ambitious-and-thorny-batch-of-compositions-yet/

De uit Duitsland afkomstige saxofoniste Ingrid Laubrock woont inmiddels al weer enige tijd in New York, sinds 2008 om precies te zijn. Terugkijkend blijkt het meer dan een verstandige beslissing, zowel voor Laubrock zelf als voor de New Yorkse avant-garde scene. Het aantal musici waar zij sindsdien haar groepen mee formeert is gestaag gegroeid en een deel vinden we dan ook terug op twee recent bij het Zwitserse Intakt verschenen cd's. Boeiend aan de twee albums is tevens dat ze Laubrock zowel laten horen in de rol van componist ('Serpentines') als in de rol van improvisator ('Planktonic Finales').

Voor 'Serpentines', waarvoor Laubrock alle composities leverde, bracht ze een wat ongewoon septet samen. Dat er twee blazers inzitten - met naast Laubrock op tenor- en sopraansax trompettist Peter Evans - is allesbehalve ongewoon en dat we een drummer en een pianist aantreffen, respectievelijk Tyshawn Sorey en Craig Taborn, is dat evenmin. Maar dat we een tuba, bespeelt door Dan Peck, vinden in plaats van een bas is al minder voor de hand liggend en dat we Miya Masaoko aantreffen met de koto, een Japanse variant van de zither, is met recht bijzonder te noemen, evenals de medewerking van Sam Pluta met zijn vreemde, door elektronica voortgebrachte geluiden. Met dit septet creëert Laubrock een bijzondere muzikale wereld, zoals we dat inmiddels wel van haar gewend zijn.

Neem 'Chip In Brain' dat zo prachtig begint met een ronkende tuba, als een stationair lopende motor van een vrachtwagen, eerst doorsneden met Pluta's vreemde geluiden en met Evans' uithalen en dan met Laubrocks breekbare ijle lijnen op tenorsax, klinkend als een misthoorn. Andere musici vallen bij in deze aan rijkdom winnende klankwereld. Bijzonder is ook 'Squirrels'. Terwijl drums, tuba en in mindere mate piano zorgen voor een blues-achtig ritme, kiezen de blazers het ruime sop en trakteren ons op een overvloed aan atonale noten. En wat te denken van Pecks marsachtige ritme verderop in het stuk dat ineens oprijst uit Pluta's noise. We merkten het al eens eerder op, maar het valt bij het beluisteren van dit album wederom op: Laubrock is steeds meer in eerste instantie componist en dan pas musicus. En dan het type componist dat evenzeer weg weet met het idioom van de jazz als met dat van de hedendaags gecomponeerde muziek.

In de zomer 2015 troffen Laubrock, bassist Stephan Crump en pianist Cory Smythe elkaar voor het eerst in Laubrocks oefenruimte in Brooklyn. De drie kenden elkaar vagelijk, al speelden ze nog niet eerder samen. Maar, zoals Crump opmerkt: "It worked right from the first note, it felt fresh and exciting." En wat doe je dan in zo'n geval? Juist, je neemt een cd op. Eentje vol niet al te lange improvisaties, elf in totaal, waarin volop wordt geëxperimenteerd en waarin die opwinding waar Crump het over heeft voelbaar is. Of planten nu echt groeien op 'Tones For Climbing Plants' hebben we niet uitgeprobeerd, maar het zou zo maar kunnen. Crumps zingende en resonerende bas klinkt hier in ieder geval aantrekkelijk genoeg en Laubrock op sopraansax is een genot voor het oor. De titel 'A House Alone' dekt in ieder geval wel volledig de lading. Middels losse klanken, die de tijd krijgen om weg te sterven, creëert het trio hier in nog geen drie minuten een verstilde wereld. Je ziet het huis liggen, met de meest nabije buur op een half uur rijden. Grappig is 'As If In Its Throat'; het klinkt net zo ongemakkelijk als die graat die in je keel blijft steken.

https://draaiomjeoren.blogspot.com/2017/08/cds-ingrid-laubrock-serpentines-intakt.html

If a virtuoso storm is created throughout this recording it is because of the stellar nature of this ensemble led by saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock. It’s almost as if trumpet and koto duel with piano, tuba, drums and electronics while the saxophones and glockenspiel of Ingrid Laubrock is the glue that holds all of the seemingly disparate pieces together providing an occasional astringent edge to a curvaceous melody or extra heft to low, sustained notes played by Dan Peck on tuba in support of the horns. However, while Laubrock capably commands her part, her playing is also extremely pliant and she is often heard to yield to the more incisive phrasing and intonation of Peter Evans’ trumpet or Craig Taborn’s piano. And all of the musicians in this magnificent ensemble benefit from more detailed engineering in contrast to many recordings of other medium-sized groups’ overly reverberant acoustics.

https://jazzdagama.com/music/intakt-adventure-continues/3/

Saxofonist Ingrid Laubrock werd geboren in Duitsland, verhuisde naar Engeland en vervolgens naar de VS. Ook in haar muziek toont ze zich een reiziger. Tamelijk traditioneel begonnen, is ze uitgegroeid tot een van de boeiendste musici binnen de meer avontuurlijke jazz. Laubrock heeft al meerdere prachtplaten op haar naam staan. De nieuwe cd Serpentines is opnieuw ijzersterk en bovenal ook behoorlijk wat ambitieuzer dan veel voorgaand werk. Bijzonder uitdagend is de relatief grote en opmerkelijk samengestelde groep. Zeven musici met naast sax, trompet, piano en drums ook ruimte voor tuba, koto en elektronica. Met namen als Peter Evans, Craig Taborn en Tyshawn Sorey aan boord weet iedereen die ook maar een beetje is ingewijd dat hier de absolute top van de Amerikaanse improvisatievoorhoede verzameld is.

De concentratie en gecontroleerde inventiviteit die uit deze muziek naar voren komt, is sensationeel op Laubrocks karakteristieke bescheiden manier. Het is muziek die als de serpentines uit de titel uiterst kleurrijk is en waaruit ook het beeld opstijgt van de langzaam uitrollende serpentines. Hoewel de textuur van de tonen, klankkleuren en subtiele ritmische verschuivingen de meeste aandacht opeist, is dit juist geen abstracte muziek. Onder de oppervlakte brandt en borrelt het.

Since arriving in New York in 2008, the German saxophonist and composer Ingrid Laubrock has demonstrated a remarkable development-forming new ensembles and developing new approaches with a consistent rigor and artistic restlessness.

Much of her work has used composition as a forceful trigger for sophisticated improvisational gambits, but she's achieved a dazzling new peak in that regard on Serpentines, the debut recording from a versatile sextet featuring players that not only toggle easily between the composed and improvised musical worlds, but more often erase any lines between them.

Between the ensemble's fascinating timbre-blending the rubbery, agile low end of tuba player Dan Peck with the nimble post-traditional twang unleashed by koto experimen- talist Miya Masaoka, while Sam Pluta refracts, reshapes and stretches all of the action with his electronic setup in real-time-and a score that grants each musician leeway both in following the composed material and going off script, Laubrock and her collaborators have created a staggering piece of work.

On a superficial level there's no missing the influence of Anthony Braxton-a pioneer in melding disparate methodologies-in certain passages. But Serpentines follows a wildly slaloming path all its own, a sonic flow inextricably linked to the strong personalities carving it.

Laubrock has created a work of remarkable density, both in terms of ideas and physical sound, and it yields greater dividends with each spin.

As I began this post last night, the Grammy Awards were being handed out. Downloads of music were reportedly greater than CDs sales over the past year. That means most people listen to the music in a completely different way than they did ten or more years ago. Albums don't really matter, and forget about cover art. That went out with the 20th centure.

Don't mention this to anyone in Europe, especially the jazz fans. On further thought, do tell them. I'd like to hear what their reaction is. They'd probably say we Americans don't appreciate a good thing, treating music like disposable, expendable bits of entertainment.

While record labels continue to be antiquated by the general public in the states, one label in Switzerland continues to churn out albums at such a rate that even their devoted supporters (Hi!) have trouble keeping up with them. A quick look at this blog will show that I get the chance to write about a release once in a while, but there are plenty more out there. Aside from the ones I reviewed in the past twelve months, I dug the Fred Frith Trio's Another Day in **** Paradise (for, among other things, a great album title), the Musical Monsters disc (which unearthed a 1981 performance by Don Cherry, John Tchicai, Irene Schweizer, Leon Fancioli and Pierre Favre) and Jim Black's The Constant. Black also just released a new electric project called Malamute (look for my review in an upcoming JazzTimes).

Saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock released her Serpentines project in November, followed this month by her collaboration with bassist Stephan Crump and pianist Cory Smythe, Planktonic Finales. Both discs complement each other while also showing different sides of the creative composer and improviser. Any label that will invest in an adventurous artist in that short a time period isn't going to have any regard for mass acceptance or sales anyway, just the music.

Serpentines puts Laubrock's tenor and soprano (and bits of glockenspiel) in the company of Peter Evans (trumpet, piccolo trumpet), Craig Taborn (piano) and Tyshawn Sorey (drums). Rather than utilizing a bassist, Laubrock brought in Dan Peck on tuba. Also along for the adventure are Sam Pluta (electronics) and Miya Masaoka (koto), who float in and out of the five tracks. Come to think of it, most of the players do that as well. The two-part "Pothole Analytics" begins with pointillistic sounds from the horns, jutting out without really cohering just yet. Things start to gel in part two, with soprano, trumpet, tuba and piano moving in parallel lines. Even Sorey, who can fit into any setting, seems to have a written part that drives things along. As quickly as things picked up, they also die down in the final minute.

"Squirrels" could have been banded into two tracks, like "Pothole Analytics" since the 15-minute piece has two distinct parts. After another rollicking soprano/piccolo trumpet conversation that appears to move from free to structured, the second half of the piece gets spare and open. Peck's tuba and Masaoka's koto create a pensive sound to which Pluta adds some electric static. Sometimes musical, sometimes noisy, it adds to sound and, at one point, makes the disc sound like it's defective. The rest of the band slowly eases in, with Laubrock casually joining the crew to close it up.

The group stretches out on the other two tracks with some fine moments, though things come up a little short. "Chip in Brain" is a dark tone poem built largely on low, long tones from Peck. The combination of Taborn and Masaoko create some harplike sounds but as Evans moves from intermittent blasts to his own long tones, things never completely catch fire. The title track starts at a high level - with two minutes of free band blowing. Then things pull back to feature the piano and koto in an understated combination. It's engaging in its spareness but it doesn't end on any type of grand statement; it merely winds down.

Stephan Crump (who plays with Vijay Iyer and leads his own Rosetta Trio and quartet Rhombal) has released several intimate, free improvised discs for Intakt (with Steve Lehman and in Secret Keeper with Mary Halvorson). The seeds for Planktonic Finales were sown when Laubrock invited Crump and pianist Cory Smythe to her rehearsal space to play. Smythe has a background in classical music but played on Tyshawn Sorey's two recent albums, proving his flexibility as an improviser. The natural chemistry between the players worked so well that they attempted to recreate it - or perhaps continue it - by going into the studio.

In some ways, Planktonic Finales resembles Serpentines. It often moves slowly, casually, so as not to rush anything. "With Eyes Peeled" opens the album like an exposition, with each player figuring out the space between them. But more direction comes with each track, as if the whole set was originally recorded as a complete 54-minute piece and divided into 11 tracks later.

When Laubrock switches to soprano on "Sinew Mod...

Ingrid Laubrock is among the new generation of New York-based players working at the intersection of avant-jazz and New Music, combining rigorous compositional strategies with the spontaneity of improvisation. What makes Serpentines so successful is the way Laubrock tailors her writing to the brilliant improvising musicians she’s assembled here. Each piece pivots on the relationship between a particular combination of instruments – piano and koto, brass and electronics – while building a larger ensemble sound around it all.

‘Pothole Analytics Pt. 1’ opens with a series of introductions from Laubrock’s crack ensemble: a electronic tone, a deflated sax, a snare hit from Tyshawn Sorey. Instruments begin to pair up, some directly echoing the other, some complementing each other in a more oblique manner. In ‘Part 2’ these little cells mutate and grow until the speakers are teeming with detail – toots and trills from the horns, compressed rolls and cymbal taps from the drums, flickers of piano and koto. It gradually settles into a more lyrical mode, as a thousand flowers break through the asphalt.

On ‘Chip In Brain’ Dan Peck’s electronically-treated tuba purrs like a sleeping lion, while Peter Evan’s trumpet sounds long, clean tones. Sam Pluta sweeps in like a late 90s Puff Daddy video, all helicopter sounds and car alarms, before tuning into Peck’s tuba with a throbbing generator hum. ‘Squirrels’ is more playful still, capturing the manic energy of the cheeky wee furballs scarpering around the woods and nibbling on acorns. Unlike your standard issue avant-jazz herky-jerk, it has a freshness and freedom that’s utterly beguiling.

https://thequietus.com/quietus-reviews/quietus-international/jazz-review-matthew-shipp-the-necks-george-lewis-album/

Ingrid Laubrock's various recordings as leader for the Swiss Label Intakt have positioned her at the hub of Brooklyn's experimental music scene, having relocated there from London in 2008. The German-born saxophonist-composer has since then been developing her music with an intimate circle of musicians, mostly in the trio Sleepthief and quartet Anti-House. But Serpentines takes her in a slightly different direction as a project from a commission she received for the 2015 Vision Festival. The high calibre line-up explores the borders between contemporary music notation and avant-garde improv, perhaps acknowledging her recent small ensemble work with the influential Anthony Braxton. 'Pothole Analytics Pt. 1' and '...Pt. 2' starts with pointillist textures that slowly gather in intensity to a climax of vocalised chatter and barking rhythms before dissolving into phrases marked by trill effects. 'Chip in Brain' is more ambient in tone, the combination of electronica and tuba creating an aquatic feel as the sound of Laubrock's glockenspiel and Miya Masaoka's koto merge with a hint of the orient. 'Squirrels' has the saxophonist and the outstanding trumpeter Peter Evans in scurrying confrontation before a guileful Craig Taborn piano solo, Sam Pluta's Stockhausen- ish analogue sonics and Dan Peck's (a member of Laubrock's Ubatube band) pulsating tuba groove all demonstrate the more playful side of Laubrock's writing. The first section of the turbulent title track comes closest to free jazz, especially late Trane. Serpentines might be the furthest Laubrock has gone in extending the instrumental palette beyond classic jazz formats. Yet the diverse instrumentation never reverts to type; Laubrock is certainly making music that looks beyond any recognised genre or style.

Ingrid Laubrock ist seit Langem für originelle Besetzungen bekannt. Doch für ihr neues Album „Serpentines" (Intakt/Harmonia Mundi) hat die deutsche Saxofonistin, die seit Langem in New York lebt, ein Septett kombiniert, das auch in dieser Hinsicht so manches in den Schatten stellt. „Für das Vision Festival 2015 in New York durfte ich eine Band zusammenstellen, für die ich meine Vorstellungskraft schweifen ließ", erzählt Laubrock. „Sam Pluta benutzt Elektronik sehr kompositionell, was mir gut gefällt. Dann wollte ich die Koto von Miya Masaoka dem Klavier von Craig Taborn gegenüberstellen. Schlagzeuger Tyshawn Sorey und den Tubaspieler Dan Peck kannte ich aus anderen Konstellationen. Für die Studioaufnahme habe ich dann noch Peter Evans dazugebeten, weil mir der Kontrast seiner hohen Trompete sinnvoll erschien." Die vier langen Kompositionen Laubrocks reizen die unterschiedlichsten Konstellationen der beteiligten Musiker aus, von wieselflinken Läufen im rasanten „Squirrels" bis hin zu den tiefenentspannten, aber auch leicht beunruhigenden Drones, die Dan Peck auf seiner Tuba im zwölfminütigen „Chip In Brain" ausbreitet - einen herkömmlichen Bass benötigt die Band gar nicht. Wie aber komponiert man für einen unorthodoxen Elektroniker wie Sam Pluta? „Man kann einem Elektroniker nicht einzelne Noten aufschreiben", sagt Laubrock, die mit Pluta schon in anderen Bands gespielt hat. „Ich sage ihm stattdessen beispielsweise:, Schnapp dir die Noten der Koto und bilde daraus ein großes Cluster!"