Saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock was a part of two of the more memorable CDs released in 2010, Pool School by the Tom Rainey Trio and Paradoxical Frog, her trio recording with pianist Kris Davis and drummer Tyshawn Sorey (both published by Clean Feed). She also combined those forces, creating her own sum greater than its parts, with the quintet recording Anti-House.

The easy take on it is that it's an extension of Pool School, with Rainey on drums and Mary Halvorson on guitar, augmented by Davis and bassist John Hébert, except that Anti-House is so much more, or at least so much else, than that. Under Laubrock's baton there's a different push. Not quite more or less, but very different. Like Pool School, however, it comes in small pieces, in this case 14 of them, ranging from less than a minute to close to 10. Not quite miniatures, but cogent ideas with no extraneous detail, a bit over half composed by Laubrock with the others credited to different permutations of the group. More importantly, however, it's just a different band, and a very strong one at that. Rainey is, as always, a prescient instigator, always pushing, never slamming. Hébert is solid and easy to take for granted unless it's noted the job he has keeping in step with the drums. There are many and fantastic things to be heard in this house as its residents constantly reposition themselves.

There is another point to be made, or heard, in Anti-House, one either significant or superficial but nothing in between, and that is that 60% of the band is not just double-X chromosome (that in itself would be a trivializing point), but strong, enigmatic, inventive female instrumentalists. Davis and Halvorson play some fantastically intuitive runs together, and Laubrock is strong as both leader and player. The gender balance in jazz is still delicate enough that a few names can shift it, but in this case it's three players worth paying attention to despite the question of demographics. And with it, all the more so.