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Ingrid Laubrock: Purposing The Air

By Thierry De Clemensat
April 13, 2025
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Purposing The Air is a recording of extreme quality, though it is undoubtedly aimed at an informed audience, one more inclined toward contemporary classical music. While some pieces carry faint echoes of jazz, listening to this album is akin to stepping into a museum to attend a recital. Each artist is striving for excellence on every level: musicality, interpretation and even theatricality. It is, without a doubt, a powerful creation.

To fully grasp the artistic approach behind this album, one must immerse oneself in the words of Ingrid Laubrock: "I grew up in a literary household, surrounded by parents who placed great importance on the power of words. My father was a Goethe specialist, and my mother would often read aloud to us, emphasizing the beauty of words' sound. I have always felt a deep affinity for poetry, appreciating its emotional capacity to move us and make us reflect in ways that are less literal." This same devotion to the beauty of words permeates the composer's music, and it is precisely what captivates. Nothing here is self-evident; one must open one's mind, challenge one's listening, and allow oneself to be immersed. In the end, we find ourselves before a succession of 21st-century masterworks.

Laubrock continues, "

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis insisted on the importance of knowing the lyrics to jazz standards, and I have always believed that understanding the meaning of words adds an extra dimension to improvisation. During my formative years as a musician in London, my first band was N��is 4, a collaboration with Brazilian singer

Monica Vasconcelos

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Monica Vasconcelos. We performed our own compositions as well as arrangements of works by Brazilian masters. M?nica is both a journalist and a remarkable lyricist in her own right; she would only sing songs whose lyrics she deeply loved. We often discussed the meaning of the texts, and I even learned Portuguese to immerse myself further in this music."

The ability of artists to intertwine their craft with other forms of expression is what allows compositions of such richness to emerge in works that defy comprehension. It is likely that something is inevitably lost in the transition from live performance to recording, but the cultural contribution remains undeniable. The artistic vision of each musician involved in these pieces is strikingly effective.

Laubrock adds, "Still confined in 2021, I composed the first dozen pieces at home. Then, as travel became possible again, my writing continued elsewhere: four pieces at Ragdale House near Chicago, two in Ucross, Wyoming, where temperatures plummeted to -24��F, with only bison, eagles and deer for company. Others were written in Norway, Germany, Austria, or even while cat-sitting for

Sylvie Courvoisier

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Sylvie Courvoisier. The final piece was completed on the way to the recording session for Fay and Mariel on June 7, 2024. I assigned the poems to duets guided more by the voice I heard in my mind than by the instruments themselves. These choices were often intuitive, sometimes inspired by a word, a phrase, or a sonic impression. The sequence of poems was rearranged for musical coherence, and the track numbers on the album correspond to this revised order."

Purposing the Air is an album that should not be put in your record collection, but rather in your books, because it is pure intellectual nourishment, a deeply fascinating experience.

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Track Listing

CD 1:

Fay Victor & Mariel Roberts: Koan 28; Koan 13; Koan 55; Koan 15; Koan 47; Koan 11; Koan 18; Koan 37; Koan 12; Koan 38; Koan 46; Koan 39; Koan 43; Koan 35; Koan 58.

Sara Serpa & Matt Mitchell: Koan 5; Koan 3; Koan 7; Koan 48; Koan 29; Koan 42; Koan 31; Koan 36; Koan 49; Koan 25; Koan 56; Koan 17; Koan 6; Koan 20; Koan 9.

CD 2:

Koan 8.

Theo Bleckmann & Ben Monder: Koan 23; Koan 10; Koan 24; Koan 30; Koan 32; Koan 33; Koan 45; Koan 40; Koan 14; Koan 59; Koan 60; Koan 53; Koan 51; Koan 54.

Rachel Calloway & Ari Streisfeld: Koan 1; Koan 34; Koan 22; Koan 19; Koan 26; Koan 21; Koan 57; Koan 27; Koan 41; Koan 50; Koan 52; Koan 44; Koan 2; Koan 16; Koan 4.

Personnel

Ingrid Laubrock

saxophone

Sara Serpa

vocals

Matt Mitchell

piano

Fay Victor

vocals

Mariel Roberts

cello

Theo Beckman

vocals

Ben Monder

guitar

Rachel Calloway

vocals

Ari Streisfield

violin

Album information

Title: Purposing the Air | Year Released: 2025 | Record Label: Pyrolastic Records

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