ingrid laubrock and tom rainey at zurcher gallery - NYC, jun 30

• photography by Clara Pereira / text by Filipe Freitas

The Zurcher Gallery in NYC hosted two of the most emblematic representatives of the modern creative jazz scene, the saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and the drummer Tom Rainey. The invigorating performance served to promote their second duo recording, “Buoyancy”, released this year on Relative Pitch Records.

Like in the album, which was recorded live at Audio for the Arts in 2014, the performance showed the talented couple at their best.
The four compositions were played in a raw and intense way, stirring several feelings and producing amazing vibes and sensations. The intensity is constantly changing amidst compelling interactions, revealing intimacy and enthusiasm.
Moments of vehement restlessness, some of them touching the thunderous and the vociferous, are followed by sweeter approaches and spacious tranquilities, or vice versa. The cycle might repeat itself, but the music is never boring or redundant since the duo has countless resources in order to make it sound fresh.

In addition to sinuous phrases that seem to arrive from another world, Ms. Laubrock, toggling between the tenor and the soprano, enchanted the audience with her flawless techniques, including multiphonics, single growled notes played repeatedly or more complex motifs, deliberate airy sounds, and both slaptongue and fluttertongue effects.
No less inventive, Rainey responded accordingly by introducing a multitude of different sounds created with drumsticks, percussion mallets, his bare hands, or even a small bottle half-filled with water.

Sometimes thick and dense, sometimes minimal and floating, the music of two forces of nature can only be a force of nature itself.
Ladies and gentlemen... This is “Buoyancy”!