Mary Halvorson - Cloudward

February 8, 2024

Label: Nonesuch Records, 2024

Personnel - Mary Halvorson: guitar; Adam O’Farrill: trumpet; Jacob Garchik: trombone; Patricia Brennan: vibraphone; Nick Dunston: bass; Tomas Fujiwara: drums + guest Laurie Anderson: violin (#6)

The highly acclaimed Booklyn-based guitarist and composer Mary Halvorson always manages to draw me in with her collision of jarred chords, knotty melodies, and inconspicuous rhythms. Reuniting her Amaryllis Sextet, the guitarist unveils eight new compositions, predominantly penned in 2022, in her latest offering, Cloudward. While this collection exudes a warmer and more accessible vibe compared to Amaryllis and Belladonna, it remains delightfully unpredictable, fearlessly embracing chances without hesitation or defensiveness.

“The Gate” kicks off with an infectious Henry Threadgill-esque groove reinforced with precise marching drumming. Halvorson, though featuring fewer solos than in previous recordings, contributes seasoned harmonic context with winning effects throughout. On the opening piece, she pushes the energy to the horn-filled front. While trombonist Jacob Garchik sounds earnest and articulated, trumpeter Adam O’Farrill is bold in the intervallic choices. “Unscrolling” is painted with melancholy tones, creating a mournful dirge accentuated by Nick Dunston’s rasping bowed bass.

Before turning into a shimmering brushed ballad, “The Tower” texturizes with Halvorson’s rapid runs and cadenced steps marked by pitch dropping and delay effects. It’s a smooth sailing where you’ll find fragmented and pointillistic unisons and an engrossing vibraphone solo by Patricia Brennan topped with juxtaposed interjections from trumpet and trombone in its denouement. “Desiderata” brims with confidence and balance, inflamed by a rock-derived rhythm under the skilled guidance of drummer Tomas Fujiwara. Following a transient quiet vamp, the piece romps up into a kinetic swath of distorted guitar and dissonance.

“Tailhead” flows distinctively, following Fujiwara’s inventive intro, while “Ultramarine” closes out the album with a rift of strangeness. The latter is a modern creative fusion, brilliantly introduced by Dunston and later complemented with Halvorson’s atonal expressionism and labyrinthine harmonies, taking us from a four-chord indie rock progression to a vanguardist fanfare.

For anyone harboring doubts about Halvorson’s compositional prowess, Cloudward stands as compelling evidence. Here, she rides high waves of inspiration alongside peers that understand her advanced musical mind.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - The Gate ► 02 -The Tower ► 05 - Desiderata

Mary Halvorson - Amaryllis

May 10, 2022

Label: Nonesuch Records, 2022

Personnel - Mary Halvorson: guitar; Adam O’Farrill: trumpet; Jacob Garchik: trombone; Patricia Brennan: vibraphone; Nick Dunston: bass; Tomas Fujiwara: drums + The Mivos Quartet (#4-11).

Brooklyn-based Mary Halvorson is a premier guitarist and composer whose innovative and creative work has been lauded by the public and critics alike. She makes her Nonesuch debut, not with one, but with two interrelated albums: Amaryllis, a six-song suite featuring a newly established sextet of old cohorts plus the Mivos Quartet on half of the tracks; and Belladonna, a set of modern chamber compositions written for guitar and the above mentioned string quartet. All compositions were written in 2020, when the world entered lockdown.

The object of this review is Amaryllis, whose kinetic opening track, “Night Shift”, channels effortless swagger, mastering a rhythmic development in 10/8 that combines indie rock, new music and modern jazz concepts with tasteful effects and triumphant solos from Adam O’Farrill on trumpet and Patricia Brennan on vibraphone. “Anesthesia” arrives next to explore with a calmer temperament; it’s deliberately cerebral and intriguingly percussive at times. On the contrary, the tricky-metered “Amaryllis” starts off with an expeditious bass figure laid down by Nick Dunston, but the relaxed way O’Farrill and trombonist Jacob Garchik blow their horns creates a polyrhythmic feel that is extremely gratifying. After a stunning trumpet solo, drummer Tomas Fujiwara also finds the space to deepen his rhythmic chops.

The three last selections feature the allurement of strings, with the Mivos quartet enlarging the group to a tentet. They forge a nice chamber setting where modern classical and avant-garde elements merge seamlessly. That’s what happens on “Side Effect”, which keeps an exuberant sense of wonder while skillfully warping our rhythmic perception of things. The last couple of tracks, “Hoodwink” and “892 Teeth”, are more immediate, seeking out a more symmetric geometry while putting on view Halvorson’s visionary methods and openness to other genres. The former tune, carrying a march-like propulsion that recalls Bill Frisell’s ECM album Rambler, features the bandleader’s beautiful fingerpicking and warped improvised verses. On the other hand, the latter piece feels intimate and emotional, oozing a somber tone that never reaches a deep level of despair.

Nothing here feels like a stretch. That’s what you get when you have the gift for structured composition and the back of a stupendous cast of players who trust one another implicitly.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Night Shift ► 03 - Amaryllis ► 05 - Hoodwinck

Sylvie Courvoisier / Mary Halvorson - Searching For the Disappeared Hour

October 28, 2021

Label: Pyroclastic Records, 2021

Personnel - Mary Halvorson: guitar; Sylvie Courvoisier: piano.

Displaying seriously brilliant musicianship, guitarist Mary Halvorson and pianist Sylvie Courvoisier are two singular voices united in a powerful duo to explore notions of time. The result of their collaboration is Searching For the Disappeared Hour, a record that reflects the colorful sounds and inventive textures that populate their minds.

Three of the twelve tracks are credited to the duo, including “Four-Point Interplay”, where the prepared piano takes a percussive role and the ruminative guitar threatens to morph into indie rock behavior.

Albeit catchy, the cited tune can’t be compared in terms of sonic pleasure with Halvorson’s “Golden Proportion” and Courvoisier’s “Lulu’s Second Theorem”. The former - a collage of vignettes with an Erik Satie feel - opens the record by enlacing classical and avant-jazz ambiances through dissonant, pitch-distorted guitar in strategic balance with the ebbs and flows of the piano; in turn, the latter song grooves with highly rhythmic ostinatos, odd-metered passages and expeditious melodic anatomies before shifting halfway to more reflective and abstract zones.

Two other Courvoisier compositions had an incredibly positive effect on me. One of them is “Moonbow”, which, after being playfully set in motion, segues into a serene 4/4 pop progression whose textural base is alternately provided by each musician. After that, we have a more accelerated section where the guitar whoops with timbres that recall slot machines, video games and robotic language. The other song is “Mind Out of Time”, a poignant, dark aural experience that seems to want to unravel secrets in the depths of our souls. By the end, compelling unison lines are briefly incorporated without losing a bit of the texture.

Halvorson penned “Bent Yellow”, a bluesy plunge that feels bold in the interaction, angular in the theme and resolute in the proceedings, as well as “Gates & Passes”, a sad, shimmering ballad sunk in a myriad of interesting effects.

The guitar playing and pianism of these amazing musicians are so rich and satisfying that the album catches our senses with striking assurance.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Golden Proportion ► 02 - Lulu’s Second Theorem ► 07 - Mind Out of Time

Mary Halvorson's Code Girl - Artlessly Falling

November 2, 2020

Label: Firehouse 12 Records, 2020

Personnel - Mary Halvorson: guitar; Amirtha Kidambi: vocals; Adam O’Farrill: trumpet; Maria Grand: tenor sax, vocals; Michael Formanek: bass; Tomas Fujiwara: drums + guest Robert Wyatt: vocals (#1,3,5).

The sophomore album from Code Girl, an intrepid project led by guitarist/composer Mary Halvorson that incorporates lyrics and blends elements of jazz, rock, folk, and indie pop, offers some agreeable surprises. Artlessly Falling signals the absence of trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire from the original roster of musicians, but welcomes Adam O’Farrill for his place, as well as saxophonist/vocalist Maria Grand and rock legend Robert Wyatt, who puts his voice on three pieces. The remaining members are bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Tomas Fujiwara - both colleagues of Halvorson in the Thumbscrew trio - and avant-garde vocalist Amirtha Kidambi. The material on this recording was inspired by many factors, but perhaps the most significant of them has to do with the challenging poetic forms picked by Halvorson to write the lyrics for each tune.

With words inspired by and dedicated to novelist Lawrence Osborne, “The Lemon Trees” is a pure delight. It kicks off with gentle waltzing steps conducted by arpeggiated guitar, brushed drums, and topped by Latin-flavored trumpet, quickly segueing into the sung part, where Wyatt’s beautiful voice - efficiently backed by Kidambi and Grand - takes us to the realms of King Crimson. The final section of O’Farrill’s wide-ranging solo has exclusively drums as accompaniment, and, afterwards, the drummer seizes the opportunity to deliver an enthusiastic statement himself.

Playing like an operatic lament, “Last-Minute Smear” features regular snare drum activity and sparse guitar chords with vocals atop. This pattern is dismantled and renewed with a view for unison melodies as well as improvisations by Grand and O’Farrill.

Both “Muzzling Unwashed” and “A Nearing” denote fleeting tempo shifts (duple to triple) and feature Kidambi’s easy, elastic vocals at the fore. If the former piece launches into pitch-bending guitar before gradually adding slippery bass and intimate drumming, the latter is introduced by Formanek’s ruminative discourse that anticipates the simple 4/4 groove.

Halvorson turns up the distortion levels on “Walls and Roses”, a noise-rock endeavor with alternation of tranquil and explosive passages. The guitarist, inventing herself in a swift improvisation crammed with sinister notes and intervals, and Wyatt, who sings it beautifully in the company of Grand, are outstanding. His mighty presence also juices up “Bigger Flames”, whose yearning tones conjure his own art-rock, the early days of Pink Floyd and the dream pop of The Flaming Lips.

“Mexican War Streets (Pittsburgh)” is a shapeshifter full of musical constellations that include an uncommon poignancy in the poetic vocal parts, a heavy rock passage, electronic disturbances, and some neo-psychedelia.

Halvorson, who always takes the jazz guitar to another dimension with such extraordinary talents, creates another powerful album. And, damn, how I loved to hear Wyatt here!

Favorite Tracks:
01 - The Lemon Trees ► 03 - Walls and Roses ► 06 - Mexican War Streets (Pittsburgh)

Mary Halvorson - The Maid With The Flaxen Hair

October 11, 2018

Label: Tzadik, 2018

Personnel - Mary Halvorson: guitar; Bill Frisell: guitar.

Pursuing fashionable sounds, Mary Halvorson joins forces with her fellow guitarist Bill Frisell on The Maid With The Flaxen Hair, where both follow their natural stylistic impulses to interpret nine ballads associated with Johnny Smith. The idea came from saxophonist John Zorn, who opened the doors of his record label, Tzadik, to these guitar-centric duets with abundance of melody and experimentation.

Electronic seasoning confers a 21st-century presentation to timeless standards shaped with hints of folk and country, cases of the languid “Moonlight in Vermont”, which even swings a bit in its B section after a few slow dissonant bends; “In The Wee Small Hours of the Morning”, sculpted lightly with an uncompromising posture; “The Nearness of You”, limned with rhythmic staccato attacks and introductory melodic divagations to obtain a marvelously fresh sound; and “Misty”, whose unadulterated voice leading goes along with buzzing and sliding rusty drones.

Wry sounds spread throughout and sometimes the sound of the guitarists blend in such a way that it’s hard to say who’s doing what, especially when Halvorson doesn’t use that descendant pitch shifting effect that characterizes her playing. The title track, a classical prelude by Claude Debussy, exhibits echoing phrases and follows a necessary synchronization with a contemplative country-jazz propensity.

The duo pushes the envelope of the American folk idiom on both “Scarlet Ribbons For Her Hair”, a popular song, and “Shenandoah”, dated to the early 19th century.

The fanciful orchestrators end this session with Smith’s 1954 hit “Walk, Don't Run”, in which swinging jazz segments cohabit with Bach's innuendos.

This is a fun, accessible disc from two openminded sound-shapers who bring interesting ideas to songs from the past.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Moonlight in Vermont ► 02 - The Maid With The Flaxen Hair ► 06 - The Nearness of You

Mary Halvorson - Code Girl

March 26, 2018

Label: Firehouse 12 Records, 2018

Personnel – Mary Halvorson: guitar; Ambrose Akinmusire: trumpet; Amirtha Kidambi: vocals; Michael Formanek: acoustic bass; Tomas Fujiwara: drums.

Guitarist Mary Halvorson is known for her ability to create wayward yet rich soundscapes. She has been spreading sonic charms in fruitful collaborations, usually in duo and trio formats. However, it was leading her octet that she definitely caught the jazz world’s attention, in a rapturous record from 2016 entitled Away With You. Now she’s back with a brand new experience permeated with genre-bending ideas, having penned lyrics and music of the 14 appealing tracks that compose Code Girl, a vocalized album envisioned for the quintet of the same name. It features Amirtha Kidambi on vocals, Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet, Michael Formanek on bass, and Tomas Fujiwara on drums.

“My Mind I Find in Time”, the opening piece, is introduced by processed guitar replicas, giving a sensation that Halvorson is having an echoed conversation with herself. The powerful, incisive voice of Kidambi, a classical trained singer whose intonations sometimes bring Irene Aebi to mind, is placed over guitar melodies that take the form of rhythmic figures. Later on, while strumming, the guitarist designs pungent electro-acoustic chords, encouraging a striking pulse that sustains Akinmusire’s electrifying trumpet solo.

On “Possibility of Lightning”, guitarist and trumpeter utter parallel phrases with Kidambi’s voice flawlessly meddling to converge with their movements. While Formanek sticks to a pedal, distortion inflames Halvorson’s guitar, whose driving noisy bumps take us to alternative rock zones. Words and ‘ahs’ dance in counterpoint with guitar and trumpet, leading to a volatile crossing between the indie-rock bravery of Deerhoof and the innocuous modes of the new age.

Evoking King Crimson and Robert Wyatt, “Storm Cloud” unleashes melancholy through the guitar fingerpicking, a perfect vehicle for Kidambi’s forlorn and poetic declamation. Even with the bowed bass inflicting a deeper sense of gravitas, the robustness is only increased from the moment that Fujiwara takes action. The improvisations were assigned to the bandleader, who uses a slide-guitar effect for a quirky sound, and Akinmusire, who doesn’t rush his thoughts but builds them consistently.

Both “Pretty Mountain” and “Accurate Hit” are semi-obscure pop songs. The former is enlightened by Akinmusire’s fantastic improvisation and a few abrupt drum slaps, while the latter displays a simple harmonic progression painted blurred by Halvorson’s occasional dissonances.

The band interlocks pop/rock and cool swinging jazz with shape-shifting ease on “Off The Record”. After the guitarist’s idiosyncratic attacks and flashy effects, we have the gorgeous intervallic escalations emitted by the trumpeter.

The longest piece on the record and also one of the most beautiful, “The Unexpected Natural Phenomenon” is a dramatic avant-garde excursion with lugubrious arco bass work, impeccable vocal technique, expressive guitar phrases constantly falling ‘outside’ the expected, and poised drumming. Fujiwara remains in an understated position until the trumpeter starts a galvanizing statement filled with static electricity. At that time, one of those magic clamors is created.

If “Thunderhead”, a consolidated collective instrumental, marches resolutely with additive meters, “And” plays with tempo and time signature, toggling between a slow 4/4 and a faster 7/4.

With an enviable openness and a propensity to explore the unknown, the unrivaled Halvorson crafts a fantastic album that I urge you to enjoy out loud.

Favorable Tracks:
01 - My Mind I Find in Time ► 09 - The Unexpected Natural Phenomenon ► 10 - Thunderhead

Mary Halvorson Octet - Away with You

December 20, 2016

Mary Halvorson: guitar; Ingrid Laubrock: tenor saxophone; Jon Irabagon: alto saxophone; Jonathan Finlayson: trumpet; Jacob Garchik: trombone; Susan Alcorn: pedal steel guitar; John Hébert: bass; Ches Smith: drums.

Originally from Brookline, Massachusetts, and based in Brooklyn, New York, Mary Halvorson, a skillful guitarist, unpredictable improviser, gifted composer, and unavoidable figure of the avant-garde jazz current, has been very active in New York since 2002. Highly in-demand in the last couple of years, Halvorson has participated in several recordings as a sidewoman in addition to the release of her first solo album, Meltframe, and a few audacious duo and trio projects she co-leads. Her style usually features twisted-yet-beautiful harmonies and an out-of-the-box improvisational vision that encompasses complex patterns, audacious phrases, and dazzling atonal and polytonal approaches.

To give the most appropriate course to her tempting new album, Away With You, the unconventional 36-year-old guitarist brought together an extraordinary octet. The resultant body of work confers her, once and for all, the statute of large-ensemble leader.
Evincing a more melodic and cerebral approach than her previous works, the recording starts with “Spirit Splitter (No. 54)”, a distortedly symphonic volcano that spills rapturous counterpoints and steamy exchanges. Saxophonist Jon Irabagon puts his best foot forward, showing why he’s considered an outstanding improviser. Halvorson brands her quirky, tense chords right after a reverberant collective improvisation packed with horn sounds.
Her probing guitar dominates “Away With You (No. 55)”, a frolicking avant-pop piece that also counts on trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson’s unpretentious speeches and Ches Smith’s freethinking yet methodical drumming.

“The Absolute Outmost (No. 52)” features Susan Alcorn playing her pedal guitar steel in a meditative way. Halvorson, opting for unusual sounds, and John Hébért, who bows the bass accordingly, join her until the fourth minute, time when the reeds erupt and a flamboyant rhythm is installed. Ingrid Laubrock excels with a portentous solo that encompasses melodious lines, hints of bop phrasing, and explosive temper.
Other notable tunes are “Fog Bank (No. 56)”, a suspenseful piece sculpted by guitar, bowed bass, and trombone; “Safety Orange (No. 59)”, an exquisite guitar-horn irreverence played at 3/4 tempo; and the conclusive “Inky Ribbons (No. 53)”, an unattached melodic song embellished by beautiful guitar interactions and featuring the reedists by turns.

Away With You is Halvorson’s most enlightened and maturest work so far. The gallant sonic tapestry weaved through the fabulous arrangements enhances the collective rather the individual. Still, sectional free forms and ravishing improvisations remind us that Halvorson’s uncanny knack for playing out of standardized zones remains intact. For our contentment!

Favorite Tracks:
01 – Spirit Splitter ► 03 – The Absolute Outmost ► 08 – Inky Ribbons