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Jazz Articles about Mary Halvorson
Mary Halvorson Octet: Away With You
by Troy Dostert
Continuing her streak of outstanding releases, guitarist extraordinaire Mary Halvorson once again shows her determination to build upon her unique style as a composer and bandleader. She's taken her septet from 2013's superb Illusionary Sea and added an eighth member, pedal steel guitarist Susan Alcorn, and the resulting music is typical Halvorson: harmonically complex, emotionally compelling, and full of interesting moments worth savoring. The first thing one notices about Alcorn's presence is the sense of atmosphere she provides. ...
Continue ReadingMarc Ribot and the Young Philadelphians: Live In Tokyo
by Luca Muchetti
Marc Ribot, il Philly Sound, gli archi, il funk. Ormai capace di attraversare qualsiasi tipo di contesto musicale con la facilità con cui l'acqua scorre lungo le pietre di un ruscello, il chitarrista amato da Tom Waits incornicia con un Live in Tokyo una delle sue avventure più folli e divertenti. Ribot arruola una formazione vera detonatrice di groove e composta da Jamaaladeen Tacuma al basso, Calvin Weston alla batteria, Mary Halvorson alla chitarra, a cui aggiunge ...
Continue ReadingMarc Ribot: Live In Tokyo
by Mark Corroto
Art be damned, let's dance. If you are of a certain age, let's say the baby boomer generation, then the vintage sounds of Philadelphia soul are imprinted on your brain. The 1970's began with The O'Jays “Back Stabbers," which you might have heard on Dick Clark's American Bandstand, a show that originated in Philly, or perhaps you've ridden “The Love Train" or danced to “Me And Mrs. Jones" at a wedding. Those tunes were stamped in your soul, and at ...
Continue ReadingMary Halvorson: Meltframe
by Stefano Merighi
Il primo disco di Mary Halvorson in solo sancisce la piena maturità acquisita dalla chitarrista bostoniana. Un'artista che folgora immediatamente oppure insospettisce, che appare come un'apprendista sempre in fase di studio oppure come una razionale dispensatrice di finezze da tempo metabolizzate. Fin dalle prime sortite in trio, o in gruppi più numerosi, il suo sound cattura per quelle note sibilanti come colpi di revolver, dall'effetto quasi comico, ottenuto miscelando con il tempo giusto il pedale ...
Continue ReadingMary Halvorson: Meltframe
by Karl Ackermann
In a quietly forceful way, guitarist Mary Halvorson has cemented her place among the company of modern-day counterparts such as Eivind Aarset, Nels Cline and Terje Rypdal. The Brooklyn based composer/musician has performed with the likes of Anthony Braxton (both sharing credentials at Wesleyan University), cornet player Taylor Ho Bynum and the avant-garde group Trevor Dunn's Trio-Convulsant. Halvorson has recorded with trumpeter Nate Wooley, multi-reedist Jon Irabagon and Norwegian bassist Eivind Opsvik. The consistent factor in Halvorson's career to date, ...
Continue ReadingMary Halvorson: Meltframe
by Dan Bilawsky
It should come as no shock that Mary Halvorson's first solo guitar album is a mind-bender. In the past, regardless of where she's gone and who she's gone with, Halvorson has managed to surprise by liberally mixing uncommonly aggressive assaults, open-ended exploration(s), and, on occasion, calm(ing) cogitation. Here, standing all by her lonesome, all three of those aspects are in play. What's most shocking about this one is the material that Halvorson uses and the way she ...
Continue ReadingMary Halvorson: Reverse Blue
by Troy Collins
In the past few years, Mary Halvorson, already an acclaimed member of New York's Downtown improv scene, has been earning widespread recognition as a bandleader and composer of note. Her writing displays an increasing sophistication with each new effort, revealing a compositional maturity as distinctive as her idiosyncratic guitar technique.Her latest ensemble, Reverse Blue, first performed at NYC's Blue Note as part of Search and Restore's “Spontaneous Constructions" series. The group's name was inspired by her father's curious ...
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