Label: Intakt Records, 2022
Personnel - Ingrid Laubrock: tenor and soprano saxophones; Andy Milne: piano.
Saxophonist and composer Ingrid Laubrock teams up with pianist Andy Milne as part of her sax/piano duo works for Intakt Records. Fragile, the third installment in the series, follows Kasumi (2019) with Aki Takase, and Blood Moon (2020) with Kris Davis, and features ten Laubrock compositions that blend written and improvised sections with perceptiveness.
“Equanimity” is made of pure accessibility, achieving a curious degree of collaborative empathy between the two musicians. Milne creates some mystery through reflection, with the light brushstrokes of the saxophone giving a final composition to that background. The dialogue is intensified before ending in the same self-possessed vein as it started.
Three pieces suggest the world music fusions of Art Ensemble of Chicago, branding a sort of mysticism that seems to celebrate nature in all its splendor. Two of them, “Fragment” and “Splinter”, are versions of the same piece that, taking the form of an indigenous ritual, feature soprano streams and prepared piano with African-tinged overtones. The other is “Shard“, which includes a smattering of air sounds and piercing long notes. Milne, a former member of Steve Coleman’s Five Elements and Ralph Alessi’s This Against That, credits fellow pianist Benoit Delbecq for the inspiration in the production of these singular effects.
If this selection of three feels more celebratory than off-kilter, then “Unapologetically Yours” strips away nuance and shading in lieu of a hearty expressionism. It morphs from fidgety to balmy, without achieving the delicate reverie of the previous track, “Ants in my Brain”. Conversely, “Illusion of Character” brings Laubrock’s melodic sinuosity to the fore, reaping the benefits of Milne’s vertiginous whirls, which, in a few cases, end in a crashing root note.
Milne provides sensational comp for Laubrock’s compositional sophistication. Their successful interactions inform us of their refined musical sensibilities.
Favorite Tracks:
02 - Fragment ► 07 - Unapologetically Yours ► 08 - Illusion of Character