Perhaps emblematic of complicated economic times, jazz musicians are doing more with less these days, especially when it comes to midsize ensembles. Drummer Tomas Fujiwara , guitarist Mary Halvorson , trumpeter Adam O’Farrill and saxophonist Anna Webber all lead midsize bands that are unusually expansive in their sound. Saxophonist and composer Ingrid Laubrock , a sometime collaborator of Ms. Halvorson’s, follows in this lineage with her new recording, “The Last Quiet Place” (Pyroclastic). Ms. Laubrock, who is 52 years old, chose her title after reading Elizabeth Kolbert ’s books “The Sixth Extinction” and “Under a White Sky.” The themes of global extinction and humanity’s impact on nature led Ms. Laubrock to consider ports of serenity, though they may be more internal than external. Although the saxophonist has participated in numerous sessions with performers who lean toward the softer side, the music here is lithe, sprawling and at times intensely spiky.

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