Hotel Grief is an album by American jazz drummer Tom Rainey, which was recorded in 2013 and released on the Swiss Intakt label.
After two studio dates, this was the first live recording by his trio with saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and guitarist Mary Halvorson.
Jazz writer Bill Shoemaker makes that point clearly and eloquently in the liner notes: this is improvised music.
"[2] In a review for All About Jazz John Sharpe notes "Being so familiar with one another's styles means that even though collectively birthed the five selections possess a compelling internal logic, while their skills as improvisers mean they retain the freshness and unpredictability.
"[3] The Point of Departure review by Greg Buium says "Hotel Grief is a 61-minute set of free improvisation, but it is a cleverly structured, wonderfully coherent series of musical gestures..