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Jazz Articles about Mary Halvorson
Michael Formanek Very Practical Trio: Even Better
by Giuseppe Segala
Trigonometria musicale? Triangolazioni sonore? Certamente, la formula del trio ha sempre riscosso un'attenzione speciale nel jazz, non solamente nella sua forma classica e costantemente esplorata, che affianca pianoforte, contrabbasso e batteria. In particolare Jimmy Giuffre, negli anni Cinquanta e Sessanta, ne ha esplorato con grande profondità e acume alcune possibili varianti, sondando dinamiche, centri di gravità e connessioni, applicandole agli organici strumentali allora più insoliti e giungendo a risultati tuttora ricchi di significato, soprattutto insieme a Paul Bley e Steve ...
Continue ReadingTaylor Ho Bynum: The Ambiguity Manifesto
by Mark Corroto
Cornetist, composer, organizer and curator Taylor Ho Bynum marshals his recording The Ambiguity Manifesto into the categories of before and after, as in AM/PM, BC/AD, and maybe more appropriately before AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) and after AACM. With the entire breadth of recorded jazz history available, Bynum chose the concepts of the AACM as the tipping point(s) for this recording. This is a natural progression from his apprenticeship with Anthony Braxton and also his work with ...
Continue ReadingTaylor Ho Bynum 9-tette: The Ambiguity Manifesto
by Karl Ackermann
Taylor Ho Bynum's The Ambiguity Manifesto, with its oxymoronic title, is the third album in what the cornetist-composer calls an “accidental trilogy." Following his Firehouse 12 Records releases Navigation (Possible Abstracts XII & XIII) (2013) and Enter the Plus Tet (2016), Bynum recognized a form--however unconventional--both in the composition and performing of these large ensemble works. With a 9-tette made up of members of his sextet and Plus Tet, Bynum adds Stomu Takeishi on electric bass. Bynum cites ...
Continue ReadingMary Halvorson / Joe Morris: Traversing Orbits
by John Sharpe
Birds of a feather flock together might be the motto of acclaimed guitarist Mary Halvorson as she has made a habit of teaming up with fellow pickers on a series of dates. Prominent among them is The Maid With The Flaxen Hair: A Tribute to Johnny Smith (Tzadik Records, 2018) with Bill Frisell, but among others there are also encounters with Miles Okazaki on Paimon: Mary Halvorson Quartet plays Masada Book Two (Tzadik Records, 2017) and her part in Marc ...
Continue ReadingMary Halvorson: Code Girl
by Claudio Bonomi
Qualcuno ha già inserito Code Girl tra i dischi dell'anno e, davvero, al di là delle classifiche personali, si tratta di un lavoro che si distingue, che interseca jazz e rock in una chiave non scontata e che, alla fine, si fa apprezzare. Ed è l'ennesima conferma del talento della prolifica compositrice e chitarrista Mary Halvorson, già a capo di svariate formazioni e collaboratrice o partner di diversi progetti gravitanti in area Downtown (da Marc Ribot a Tim Berne).
Continue ReadingThumbscrew: Theirs
by Mark Corroto
The trio Thumbscrew is releasing simultaneously two recordings from a single session, Theirs and Ours. The first is an album of cover songs and the latter originals by the band. While these reductionist tags might describe the music in its fundamental aspects, these two recordings are the product of one intricate process and trio language. The three musicians that form Thumbscrew, guitarist Mary Halvorson, bassist Michael Formanek, and drummer Tomas Fujiwara, also collaborate in various other projects, including ...
Continue ReadingThumbscrew: Theirs
by Karl Ackermann
It has been four years since Thumbscrew, the trio of guitarist Mary Halvorson, bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Tomas Fujiwara, released their self-titled debut (Cuneiform Records, 2014). The trio is simultaneously releasing two albums--their third and fourth--Ours and Theirs on the same label. As the titles indicate, one album consists of original compositions and the other, covers from a very eclectic assortment of artists from Benny Golson to Wayne Shorter and far less familiar names. The latter of the two ...
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