Jazz Articles about Mary Halvorson

Mary Halvorson & Jessica Pavone: Thin Air

by Farrell Lowe
March 27, 2009

The music of guitarist Mary Halvorson and violist Jessica Pavone is immediately galvanizing but comfortable, unpredictable yet composed, powerful yet subtle, vulnerable and courageous. In the rarified air of duet recordings where there are few places to hide, the music's context becomes a powerful resonator for artistic values. Thin Air is the third release by the duo, and is a rich document of the evolutionary progress their music has reached since the release of their first effort, Prairies (Lucky Kitchen, ...

Mary Halvorson Trio: Dragon's Head

by AAJ Italy Staff
February 23, 2009

Con quel viso da liceale un po' secchioncella, ma forse pronta a accoltellarti la mano al quaderno se non le passi il compito, Mary Halvorson è un personaggio davvero unico del panorama avant-jazz odierno: a vederla tutta composta dietro la chitarra non ti aspetteresti delle strappate di suono così taglienti, eppure c'è nella sua musica qualcosa di sghembo e dolcissimo che non può che affascinare. Fattasi notare negli ultimi anni in diverse formazioni di Anthony Braxton [una su tutte il ...

Mary Halvorson Trio: Dragon's Head

by Kurt Gottschalk
November 10, 2008

Given her diverse work with Anthony Braxton, Trevor Dunn and Mike Pride, her duos with Jessica Pavone and Kevin Shea and a number of other projects, guitarist Mary Halvorson might have gone any number of directions with her debut as a bandleader. Safe bet it would include some precise, proficient playing, probably some jagged edges and maybe some noise. But in the last few years Halvorson has shown there to be a number of tricks up her sleeve.

Mary Halvorson: Dragon's Head

by John Sharpe
November 1, 2008

One of guitarist Mary Halvorson's most high profile gig was with Anthony Braxton, featuring in his Twelvetet and Sextet, and most prominently in his Diamond Curtain Wall Trio. In these diverse settings she allied top quality musicianship with energetic unpredictability, a combination equally to the fore in her trio debut Dragon's Head, though here framed within the context of her own idiosyncratic compositions.

Halvorson wrote all of these songs with seasoned bassist John Hebert and drummer Ches Smith's playing in ...

Mary Halvorson Trio: Dragon's Head

by Nic Jones
October 22, 2008

Dragon's Head is guitarist Halvorson's debut as a leader, and there's every reason to hope it'll be the first of many. In the past, she's worked in duos with both violist Jessica Pavone and drummer Kevin Shea, as well as in Anthony Braxton's ensemble. It's clear that she's bringing that wealth of experience to bear on this effort too. The program consists entirely of original compositions, and it's abundantly obvious that they were written with this particular trio in mind. ...

Mary Halvorson Trio: Dragon's Head

by Troy Collins
October 21, 2008

A singular talent, Brooklyn-based guitarist Mary Halvorson has come into her own as a composer and improviser with her trio debut, Dragon's Head. The Wesleyan-trained guitarist's recent tours and collaborations with her former instructor, composer/multi-instrumentalist Anthony Braxton, along with cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum have helped set the stage for this stunning recording.

Although Halvorson has co-led a number of similarly intimate ensembles in the recent past--including People, her duo with drummer Kevin Shea, and an avant-folk pairing with ...

Mary Halvorson - Jessica Pavone: On and Off

by AAJ Italy Staff
October 29, 2007

L'aspettavo al varco questa seconda prova della coppia Halvorson-Pavone. Dopo un album d'esordio passato quasi inosservato - Prairies, uscito per la spagnola Lucky Kitchen nel 2005 -, cinque anni di attività per lo più sui palchi newyorchesi e una serie di fruttuose collaborazioni (la più recente nel sestetto del trombettista Taylor Ho Bynum; la più singolare quella della Halvorson nei People, a fianco dell'ex Storm & Stress Kevin Shea), alle due “figliocce” dell'affettuoso e genialoide Braxton mancava solo la consacrazione ...