| Jazz |
CD1 :
Sara Serpa voice, Matt Mitchell Piano
Fay Victor voice, Mariel Roberts celllo
CD2 :
Theo B;eckman voice, Ben Monder Electric Guitar
Duo Cantona, Rachel Calloway voice, Ari Streisfield Violin
This is an album 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, entering this album is akin to stepping into a museum to attend a recital; each artist striving for excellence on every level: musicality, interpretation, and even theatricality. It is, without a doubt, one of the most powerful creations I have had the privilege of hearing in recent years.
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.
Ingrid Laubrock continues: “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 Nóis 4, a collaboration with Brazilian singer Mônica Vasconcelos. We performed our own compositions as well as arrangements of works by Brazilian masters. Mônica 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; 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.
Ingrid 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. 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.”
This is an “essential” album, one that should not be filed away in your record collection but rather placed among your books, for it is pure intellectual nourishment, a profoundly fascinating experience.
Thierry De Clemensat
USA correspondent for Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief – Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
Editor for All About Jazz
PARIS-MOVE, March 25th 2025
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