Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Ingrid Laubrock Serpentines: Serpentines

Ingrid Laubrock Serpentines: Serpentines

By John Sharpe
December 15, 2016
View read count

Ingrid Laubrock Serpentines: Serpentines

On the eponymous Serpentines, German-born, NYC-based saxophonist

Ingrid Laubrock

saxophone
b.1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Ingrid Laubrock's unveils a new outfit featuring unconventional instrumentation, peopled by an all star cast. For this line up Laubrock takes her enigmatic charts for groups such as Anti-house and Ubatuba to another level, as improv jazz meets the classical avant-garde in pieces where mood and texture often trump individual pyrotechnics. It's fair to say that the assembled talents very much reside at the service of Laubrock's tightly drawn yet organic frameworks.

As such, the dominant feel is of an ensemble music, though it's rare for everyone to play at the same time. Laubrock's compositions unfurl step by step without imparting their structure. She uses her collected resources carefully but sparingly. That includes her own saxophone, as she is heard almost as much on glockenspiel. In fact it's not until the final title track that she stretches out on tenor saxophone, skittering above dense backing early on, before later expanding a ruminative questing line.

"Pothole Analytics Pt. 1" comprises pointillist sounds, which overlap, moving from shorter to longer idioms, creating a spacious introductory vibe to start proceedings. "Part 2" switches gears to become a tapestry of vibrant propulsive overlapping figures, with trilled motifs, particularly from the leader's soprano and

Peter Evans

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Peter Evans' trumpet which sing out to forge a unifying signature, reminiscent of the recurrent fanfare in

Anthony Braxton

woodwinds
b.1945

" data-original-title="" title="">Anthony Braxton's "Composition 159." Those staccato exclamations serve a central role in "Chip In Brain" too, which in its mix of uneasy ambience and sustained tones, showcases Evans' marvellous keening, sighing circular breathed piccolo trumpet.

There's more opportunity for personalities to shine on the multi-sectioned "Squirrels," which you could imagine in the Anti-house band book. It begins with yet more mercurial interplay between Evans and Laubrock's soprano, a winning gambit revisited during the 15-minute duration. Space opens for a tumbling, flashing, glinting

Craig Taborn

piano
b.1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Craig Taborn piano excursion, with support from

Dan Peck

tuba
b.1983

" data-original-title="" title="">Dan Peck's harumphing tuba and

Tyshawn Sorey

drums
b.1980

" data-original-title="" title="">Tyshawn Sorey's drum coloration. Later

Miya Masaoka

koto

" data-original-title="" title="">Miya Masaoka's koto comes to the fore, her bent inflections latterly accompanied by

Sam Pluta

electronics

" data-original-title="" title="">Sam Pluta's fizzing electronics.

As ever with Laubrock, her imagination leads places that others might not venture and with a such a team of luminaries, the realisations are never less than intriguing.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Pothole Analytics Pt. 1; Pothole Analytics Pt. 2; Chip In Brain; Squirrels; Serpentines.

Personnel

Ingrid Laubrock

saxophone

Ingrid Laubrock: tenor and soprano saxophones, glockenspiel; Peter Evans: piccolo trumpet, trumpet; Miya Masaoka: koto; Craig Taborn: piano; Sam Pluta: electronics; Dan Peck: tuba; Tyshawn Sorey: drums.

Album information

Title: Serpentines | Year Released: 2016 | Record Label: Intakt Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Dare To Be
< Previous

Troy Collins' Best Releases of 2016
Next >

Ingrid Laubrock Concerts

Oct 7 Tue

Tom Skinner

Solar Myth
Philadelphia, PA

Dec 19 Fri

Ingrid Laubrock's Grammy Season

Firehouse 12
New Haven, CT

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.