#AndrewCyrille and #MaryHalvorson

Andrew Cyrille and Mary Halvorson get some love from the New York Times in this albums roundup. https://t.co/lmKmGhebxU

— JazzTimes Magazine (@JazzTimes) September 19, 2016

Mary Halvorson Quintet: Tiny Desk Concert

by PATRICK JARENWATTANANON
Today, when you see a saxophonist and a trumpeter in front of a jazz group, it's par for the course. It's a particular combination that's defined many landmark recordings: Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry, John Coltrane and Miles Davis. Done right, it's a classic meat-and-potatoes sound: open to reinvention, comfortable with tradition.

Guitarist Mary Halvorson didn't come to this standard practice just by playing standards. As a sidewoman, she's often tapped to play in open improvising situations; her mentors include the unclassifiable composer Anthony Braxton and the free-jazz guitarist/bassist Joe Morris. Among her sonic signatures are craggy distortions, bent strings and delay-pedaled blurts through a hollow-body guitar.

Yet Halvorson has now recorded two albums with her quintet, one with alto saxophone (Jon Irabagon) and trumpet (Jonathan Finlayson) up top. (The rhythm section is also among New York's finest, with John Hebert on bass and Ches Smith on drums.) From the way her songs balance order and entropy, you can hear that she's studied how golden-era hard bop blended those voices, and how later generations morphed, rephrased and imploded those ideas.

Read more: http://www.npr.org/event/music/172713493/mary-halvorson-quintet-tiny-desk-concert?ft=1&f=1039

Mary Halvorson Quintet - Saturn Sings (Firehouse 12, 2010)

Adventurous guitarist and composer Mary Halvorson has been garnering much attention for her work as a collaborator and side person on several notable albums. After taking time to compose new material for quintet, she is back in the leader position, working with Jonathan Finlayson on trumpet, Jon Irabagon on alto saxophone, John Hebert on bass and Ches Smith on drums.

The album is an interesting and angular proposition that takes its inspiration from avant-garde jazz, rock music and other sources but remains true to the muse of Halvorson and her colleagues. "Leak Over Six Five (No. 14)" opens the album with horns gliding in over guitar, bass and drums in an agreeable fashion. Irabagon steps out over deep bass and builds to a nice fast paced solo.

Free-ish guitar accents the music making for a cool sounding improvisation. Bass and drums open "Sequential Tears In It (No. 20)" with guitar slowly developing, probing quietly and gracefully in a complex and thoughtful manner. The full band plays uptempo on "Mile High Like (No. 16)" with fast and frenetic guitar and horns over drums giving way dynamically to open sounding trumpet that develops some really exciting interplay amongst the other instruments.

"Moon Traps In Seven Rings (No. 17)" has a solo bass introduction, developing into wild cells of improvisation. After a dexterous drum solo there is a dramatic shift in tempo as saxophone and guitar intertwine, then trumpet and guitar with a wild guitar shredding building to a wonderful conclusion. "Sea Seizure (No. 19)"is a compelling trio performance focusing on aggressive scorching guitar in spots, shifting from loud to medium in a very compelling manner.

Complete on  >>  http://jazzandblues.blogspot.com/2010/11/mary-halvorson-quintet-saturn-sings.html

Artists¹ Salon (6PM) Mary Halvorson Trio....

Guitarist/composer Mary Halvorson has been active in New York since 2002, following jazz studies at Wesleyan University and the New School. In addition to her own bands, The Mary Halvorson Trio and Quintet, she co-leads a chamber music duo with violist Jessica Pavone and the avant-rock band, People, with drummer Kevin Shea.

Photo: Peter Gannushkin (downtownmusic.net.)

A veteran of the ensembles of esteemed saxophonist/composer Anthony Braxton, she has also performed with groups led by Tim Berne, Taylor Ho Bynum, Trevor Dunn, Tomas Fujiwara, Curtis Hasselbring, Tony Malaby, Myra Melford, Nicole Mitchell, Jason Moran, Marc Ribot, Matana Roberts, Elliott Sharp, John Tchicai and Matthew Welch among many others.

In 2008, the success of her trio’s debut, Dragon’s Head (Firehouse 12 Records), led critics to call Ms. Halvorson “probably the most original jazz guitarist to emerge this decade” (Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader) and “the freshest, busiest, most critically acclaimed guitar- slinger out of downtown Manhattan/Brooklyn right now” (Howard Mandel, Jazz Beyond Jazz).

“A singular talent,” adds AllAboutJazz.com’s Troy Collins, “Brooklyn-based guitarist Mary Halvorson has come into her own as a composer and improviser with her trio debut, Dragon’s Head…light years ahead of her peers, she is the most impressive guitarist of her generation. The future of jazz guitar starts here.”

TEACHING
Mary is available to teach guitar and composition lessons for students of all ages and skill levels based in (or willing to travel to) Brooklyn, New York. She has taught students through the New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, workshops at the School for Improvised Music (SIM), and private lessons for both adults and children.
Feel free to email info@maryhalvorson.com for more details.

ARTISTS¹ SALON (6PM) MARY HALVORSON TRIO (8:30PM) Tonight At Cornelia Street Cafe

Thu Aug 05th 8:30PM

MARY HALVORSON TRIO - (Mary Halvorson, guitar; John Hebert, bass; Ches Smith, drums)
by Jazz Promo Services jazzpromo@earthlink.net

Mary Halvorson Trio at the Vortex, London, 14.12.09. with Ches Smith and John Hebert