Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Ingrid Laubrock: The Last Quiet Place

Ingrid Laubrock: The Last Quiet Place

By Jerome Wilson
April 30, 2023
View read count

Saxophonist

Ingrid Laubrock

saxophone
b.1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Ingrid Laubrock always seems to search out new instrumental configurations for her music. This time out, she and her musical and life partner, drummer

Tom Rainey

drums
b.1957

" data-original-title="" title="">Tom Rainey, collaborate with a quartet of accomplished string players, guitarist

Brandon Seabrook

guitar
b.1984

" data-original-title="" title="">Brandon Seabrook, violinist

Mazz Swift

violin

" data-original-title="" title="">Mazz Swift, cellist

Tomeka Reid

cello

" data-original-title="" title="">Tomeka Reid, and bassist

" data-original-title="" title="">Michael Formanek. Together they create stimulating music which can be many things. At different times it sounds formal, urgent, placid, and violent.

"Afterglow" and "Anticipation" explore some of the classical possibilities of this group. The former is shimmering chamber music where bowed cello, violin, and bass rise in layers against stretched-out electric guitar chords and slowly yearning tenor saxophone. On the latter, the three bowed strings have a tenser dialogue with Seabrook, Laubrock, and Rainey as their delicate beauty alternates with an ominous brew of heavy tenor saxophone and dramatic drumming. On "The Last Quiet Place," Seabrook's strumming over a brisk tempo brings up thoughts of

Pat Metheny

guitar
b.1954

" data-original-title="" title="">Pat Metheny, with keening violin and gracefully rising soprano saxophone adding more body to the overall sound.

The other three tracks get downright raucous at times. "Grammy Season" has Laubrock honking over Rainey's jogging beat and Formanek's bustling bass while Seabrook chops fierce electric chords like

John McLaughlin

guitar
b.1942

" data-original-title="" title="">John McLaughlin. Swift and Reid eventually join in to thicken the texture of the music. "Delusions" delves into prog rock intricacies; Seabrook dominates spiky, clockwork rhythms with shuddering runs aided by electronic effects. Meanwhile, Laubrock drops in staccato honks and the other players spark and sputter over the fluttering beat. "Chant II' exemplifies the entire breadth of the album. It begins with hazy chattering from bowed violin and cello which becomes more unstable as Laubrock joins in, with the sound really getting heavier and menacing when the other three players arrive. The leader lyrically wriggles over the din for a bit, then the music turns into an extended jazz-rock power trio episode with Seabrook's stabbing notes, Formanek's furious bass, and Rainey's stomping drums all writhing furiously.

Laubrock uses the potent abilities of her collaborators to create something daring and fresh here. Musical barriers get obliterated as the players move in and out of genres with amazing ease. This fine album is an excellent example of the wild concepts Ingrid Laubrock's musical imagination can create.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Anticipation; Grammy Season; The Last Quiet Place; Delusions; Afterglow; Chant II.

Personnel

Ingrid Laubrock

saxophone

Mazz Swift

violin

Tomeka Reid

cello

Brandon Seabrook

guitar

Michael Formanek

bass, acoustic

Tom Rainey

drums

Album information

Title: The Last Quiet Place | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: Pyroclastic Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

The Art of Intimacy, Vol. 2/His Muse
< Previous

Hal Galper Trio: Trip the Light Fant...
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.