Mary Halvorson & Jessica Pavone: Departure of Reason

Departure of Reason is guitarist Mary Halvorson and violist Jessica Pavone's fourth duo recording, following Thin Air (Thirsty Ear, 2009), On and Off (Skirl, 2007) and Prairies (Lucky Kitchen, 2005). As leading lights of the fertile Brooklyn scene, their unique musical vocabulary encompasses a wealth of seemingly unrelated genres, from flamenco and folk to madrigal and metal; their seamless transitions between these disparate styles serve as the underlying foundation for experimental improvisations that skirt the tenuous divide between free jazz and the avant-garde. Intimate dialogues based on stately neo-classical themes provide their formal constructions with an inimitable perspective; the unified focus of their maturing expressionism exudes a striking cohesiveness merely implied in previous similar efforts.

Sequenced in alternating fashion, authorship of the album's ten new songs is split evenly between Halvorson and Pavone. Though hailing from diverse backgrounds, their refined duet writing shares an aesthetic similarity inspired by longstanding friendship. Blurring the boundaries between Eastern European folk forms and modern jazz improvisation, Halvorson's lithe minor key opener, "The Other Thing," provides a consummate display of the pair's fraternal rapport; each sinuous turn of phrase and abrupt change in accompaniment reveals an ever deeper level of virtuosic interplay.

The duo's restricted instrumental palette reinforces the date's Spartan sensibility, providing their broad dynamic range with a distinct equilibrium, even on works like "Hyphen" and "New October," whose pithy call-and-response discourse and quicksilver mood shifts range from deconstructed pointillist ruminations to coruscating thrash interludes. Brief melodic hooks bolster pieces like "Onslaught" and "Ruin," demonstrating a knack for gracefully imbuing dissonant harmonies and odd phrase lengths with kernels of mesmerizing lyrical invention. The latter's yearning theme further accentuates one of the date's most impressively crafted compositions—a meticulous exercise in structured improvisation. Alternating solo orders, Halvorson, widely celebrated as the most original guitarist of her generation, plays with a modicum of restraint, gradually accentuating glassy arpeggios with otherworldly pitch bends and distorted power chords that infuse the number's austere acoustic ambience with raucous metallic fervor. Pavone complies in turn, her sinewy arco spinning bittersweet variations on the regal theme with a robust attack and sonorous tone.

Three of the songs include lyrics. "The Object of Tuesday," "Saturn" and "Why Should You Surrender" feature impressionistic refrains concordant with the tunes' oblique cadences and staggered meters. Lyrically, Halvorson and Pavone's poetic wordplay courts abstraction, yet their haunting altos convey the beguiling texts with honest emotional candor, tempering pretension with heartfelt sincerity. More sophisticated and confidently articulated than their previous duo efforts, Departure of Reason is a masterful example of cutting-edge creative improvised music that defies categorization.

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