One of improvised musicâs most in-demand guitarists, Mary Halvorson has been active in New York since 2002, following jazz studies at Wesleyan University and the New School. Critics have called her âa singular talentâ (Lloyd Sachs, JazzTimes),âNYCâs least-predictable improviserâ (Howard Mandel, City Arts), âone of the most exciting and original guitarists in jazzâor otherwiseâ (Steve Dollar, Wall Street Journal), and âone of todayâs most formidable bandleadersâ (Francis Davis, Village Voice). The Philadelphia City Paperâs Shaun Brady adds, âHalvorson has been steadily reshaping the sound of jazz guitar in recent years with her elastic, sometimes-fluid, sometimes-shredding, wholly unique style.â...
read more
One of improvised musicâs most in-demand guitarists, Mary Halvorson has been active in New York since 2002, following jazz studies at Wesleyan University and the New School. Critics have called her âa singular talentâ (Lloyd Sachs, JazzTimes),âNYCâs least-predictable improviserâ (Howard Mandel, City Arts), âone of the most exciting and original guitarists in jazzâor otherwiseâ (Steve Dollar, Wall Street Journal), and âone of todayâs most formidable bandleadersâ (Francis Davis, Village Voice). The Philadelphia City Paperâs Shaun Brady adds, âHalvorson has been steadily reshaping the sound of jazz guitar in recent years with her elastic, sometimes-fluid, sometimes-shredding, wholly unique style.â
After three years of study with visionary composer and saxophonist Anthony Braxton, Ms. Halvorson became an active member of several of his bands, including his trio, septet and 12+1tet. To date, she appears on six of Mr. Braxtonâs recordings. Ms. Halvorson has also performed alongside iconic guitarist Marc Ribot, in his band Sun Ship (a quartet performing the music of John Coltrane), and with the bassist Trevor Dunn in his Trio-Convulsant. Over the past decade she has worked with such diverse bandleaders as Tim Berne, Taylor Ho Bynum, Tomas Fujiwara, Curtis Hasselbring, Myra Melford, Jason Moran, Joe Morris, Tom Rainey and Mike Reed.
As a bandleader and composer, one of Ms. Halvorsonâs primary outlets is her longstanding trio, featuring bassist John HĂ©bert and drummer Ches Smith. Since their 2008 debut album, Dragonâs Head, the band has been recognized as a rising star jazz band by Downbeat Magazine for five consecutive years. Ms. Halvorsonâs quintet, which adds trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson and alto saxophonist Jon Irabagon to the trio, has released two critically acclaimed albums on the Firehouse 12 label: Saturn Sings and Bending Bridges. Most recently she has added two additional band membersâtenor saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and trombonist Jacob Garchikâto form a septet, featured on her 2013 release Illusionary Sea. Ms. Halvorson also co-leads a longstanding chamber-jazz duo with violist Jessica Pavone, the avant-rock band People and the collective ensembles Thumbscrew and Secret Keeper.
show less