“While Rainey’s evocative, time-morphing and occasionally implosive drumming plays a central role in the musical materiality here, his trio is very much an integrated ensemble. The commanding component parts are critical to the vibe and behavioral manner and conversational of the whole. Laubrock is a saxophonist of unusual textural sensitivity and intellectual savvy, who can summon up proper deposits of abandon, knowing restraint and sly references to jazz’ past in the midst of her purely improvisational explorations. Halvorson, one of the important “avant-jazz” guitarists of her generation, takes the abstracting and deconstructionist influence of, say, Derek Bailey into account in her playing, but has come up with her own way of melding that free-styling painterliness with shards of line and sonics – including tasteful deployment of effects units, a well-placed vibrato effect, ring modulation or distortion blast adding to the range and contemporary relevance of what she does. Together, they make a refreshing new and not -sentimental kind of beautiful music.”
Josef Woodard
Contributor to Downbeat, Jazz Times and the Los Angeles Times.
Tom Rainey (Drums)
Tom Rainey was born in Pasadena, California in 1957. Since moving to New York in 1978 he has performed and or recorded with the following artists:John Abercrombie, Mose Allison, Julian Arguelles, Ray Anderson, Tim Berne, Jane Ira Bloom, Anthony Braxton, Nels Cline, Ted Curson, Kris Davis, Mark Ducret, Mark Feldman, Michael Formanek, Drew Gress, Barry Guy, Mark Helias, Fred Hersch, Andy Laster, Ingrid Laubrock, David Liebman, Joe Lovano, Tony Malaby, Albert Mangelsdorff, Carmen McRae, Mike Nock, Simon Nabatov, New and Used, Anita O’Day, Andrea Parkins, Herb Robertson, Angelica Sanchez, Louis Sclavis, Brad Shepik, Ken Werner, Denny Zeitlin. Current activities include performing and recording music with the Tom Rainey Trio as well as his quintet, Obbligato. Tom also continues working with many of the aforementioned artists.
Originally from Germany, Ingrid Laubrock is a saxophonist/composer based in Brooklyn since 2009. Laubrock is interested in exploring the borders between musical realms and creating multi-layered, dense and often evocative sound worlds.
Her main projects as a leader are Anti-House, Ubatuba, and Serpentines. She has been part of several Anthony Braxton projects, including Falling River Quartet, Diamond Curtain Wall Quartet; and was one of the soloists in his latest opera Trillium J.
Awards include Fellowship in Jazz Composition by the Arts Foundation in 2006, the 2009 SWR German Radio Jazz Prize and the 2014 German Record Critics Quarterly Award. She won best Soprano saxophonist in the ‘Downbeat Annual Critics Poll in 2015.
Guitarist/composer Mary Halvorson has been called “NYC’s least-predictable improviser” (Howard Mandel, City Arts), “the most forward-thinking guitarist working right now” (Lars Gotrich, NPR.org) and “one of today’s most formidable bandleaders” (Francis Davis, Village Voice). Ms. Halvorson is best known for her longstanding trio, featuring bassist John Hébert and drummer Ches Smith, and more recently for her solo guitar project, Meltframe. She has several other projects as a bandleader including a quintet, septet and octet. Collaborative projects include the collective ensembles Thumbscrew (with Michael Formanek and Tomas Fujiwara) and Secret Keeper (with Stephan Crump), a chamber-jazz duo with violist Jessica Pavone, and the avant-rock band People. Ms. Halvorson has also performed in bands led by Anthony Braxton, Tim Berne, Taylor Ho Bynum, Trevor Dunn, Tomas Fujiwara, Ingrid Laubrock, Jason Moran, Joe Morris, TomRainey, Tomeka Reid, Marc Ribot and John Zorn, among others. Ms. Halvorson is a recipient of the 2019 MacArthur Genius Grant.
Guitarist/composer Mary Halvorson has been called “NYC’s least-predictable improviser” (Howard Mandel, City Arts), “the most forward-thinking guitarist working right now” (Lars Gotrich, NPR.org) and “one of today’s most formidable bandleaders” (Francis Davis, Village Voice). Ms. Halvorson is best known for her longstanding trio, featuring bassist John Hébert and drummer Ches Smith, and more recently for her solo guitar project, Meltframe. She has several other projects as a bandleader including a quintet, septet and octet. Collaborative projects include the collective ensembles Thumbscrew (with Michael Formanek and Tomas Fujiwara) and Secret Keeper (with Stephan Crump), a chamber-jazz duo with violist Jessica Pavone, and the avant-rock band People. Ms. Halvorson has also performed in bands led by Anthony Braxton, Tim Berne, Taylor Ho Bynum, Trevor Dunn, Tomas Fujiwara, Ingrid Laubrock, Jason Moran, Joe Morris, Tom Rainey, Tomeka Reid, Marc Ribot and John Zorn, among others. Ms. Halvorson is a recipient of the 2019 MacArthur Genius Grant.