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May 2008
gig reviews

Sleepthief
Lotte Anker
Oriole
Ian Shaw
Pippo Matino
Puma

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May 2008 gig reviews by Chris Parker

Sleepthief

Ingrid Laubrock, Tom Rainey, Liam Noble

Monday 5 May

Anyone familiar with Ingrid Laubrock's albums as leader ­ particularly her 2003 F-IRE recording Forensic, will already be aware that her playing is characterised by a sculptural quality, a scrupulous attention to nuances of timbre and texture, that stands her in good stead in free-jazz contexts.

There are three free pieces on the aforementioned album, and she has done a free duo album (Let's Call This… on Babel) with pianist Liam Noble, featured in Sleepthief alongside US drummer Tom Rainey, so her free credentials are by now firmly established, but her complete assurance in the field was evident throughout this performance, as she produced richly varied contributions to the trio's sound in a series of lengthy collective improvisations.

Emphasis should actually be placed on the word 'collective' ­ this is a fiercely interactive, wholly democratic unit, its members taking cues from and striking sparks off each other, building together from quiet musing through lively interplay to compelling climaxes, Rainey as always at the centre of the group sound, somehow contriving to combine almost military precision (snare-drum tattoos, clipped regular beats) with utter freedom and spontaneity; Noble moving easily between gentle support, pungent commentary and assertive runs; Laubrock producing sounds ranging unaffectedly from shrill whistles to breathy whispers, from anguished shrieks to full-bodied, more melodic passages, as appropriate to the ever shifting moods and dynamics of the improvisations.

An eponymous album is to be released on Intakt in the autumn; on this evidence, it should be well worth waiting for.

 

 

 

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