Dreamlike experiences. Sparks fly and a musical interaction works without arrangement or plan. An organic musical process develops out of intuition alone. The same magic happens every time.
When Brandon Lopez, a New Yorker with Puerto Rican roots, joined the duo of saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and drummer Tom Rainey, this wasn’t simply about adding a plus one to the Laubrock – Rainey duo. Thanks to the young bassist (born 1988), already collaborating with musicians from Dave Liebman via Zeena Parkins to John Zorn, a new dynamic has formed involving all three. In this triangular constellation a different balance is achieved and an altered play of energies. They are clearly on the same wavelength, with a similar sense and understanding of overarching form, inner structure, timing, feeling, energy, density, transparency and volume.
"Right from the first note the chemistry between them was right. The interplay between the three worked so effortlessly and naturally it bordered on telepathy. The three want to keep up the momentum and capture the magic moment," writes Christoph Wagner in the liner notes.
1. No es la Playa
2. When the Island is a Shipwreck
3. Saturnian Staring
4. Camposanto Chachacha
5. Little Distance Before
6. The Black Bag of Want
Ingrid Laubrock: Saxophones
Brandon Lopez: Bass
Tom Rainey: Drums
All music by Brandon Lopez (BMI), Ingrid Laubrock (PRS/MCPS) and Tom Rainey (BMI). Recorded April 25, 2021, at GSI studios, New York, by Jason Rostkowski. Mixed at Casa Papí, Malmö, by Jon Lipscomb. Mastered at Hardstudios Winterthur by Michael Brändli. Cover Photo: Ingrid Laubrock. Graphic design: Jonas Schoder. Liner notes: Christoph Wagner. Photo: Cecilia Lopez.
Produced by Lopez/Laubrock/Rainey and Intakt Records. Published by Intakt Records, P. O. Box, 8024 Zürich, Switzerland.
