a spotlight on jazz guitarist Mary Halvorson (and tour dates)
by Adam Schatz (Search & Restore)
Mary Halvorson (photo by Peter Gannushkin)
Mary Halvorson‘s sound is a hyena, sharp and active. Historically, the classic jazz guitar tone and reputation is closer to a basset hound. 9 out of 10 dentists prefer the one who’s out for blood. Standing out from the pack, Halvorson’s strings cut with beauty and precision. Her melodies are hooky and complex at the same time, no small feat, and her talent for improvising with her hand picked ensemble is one to be seen to be believed. There is a fluidness to her style, and it is all in the art of juxtaposition. She is jagged but defined, aggressive but beautiful.
On Thursday, January 13th, she’s performing at Littlefield in Brooklyn in a collaborative trio with improvisers Weasel Walter on the drums and Peter Evans on the trumpet. This double whammy show pairs Halvorson’s crew with Mostly Other People Do The Killing, an gloriously titled high energy group (sharing Evans on the trumpet and Talibam!’s Kevin Shea on drums), smashing jazz aesthetics with subtle and not so subtle humor and phenomenal talent. Don’t miss it.
The Littlefield show is a record release party for the trio’s new record, Electric Fruit, out January 25th via Thirsty Ear. It will be Mary’s first release in 2011. She lists nine that came out in 2010. Those include the notable Mary Halvorson Quintet album, Saturn Sings, which was released via Firehouse 12.
Mary can also be found tonight, January 12th, playing with Marc Ribot at Le Poisson Rouge. A video and all of her tour dates can be found below…
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Mary Halvorson Trio – Trio #12
Wednesday, January 12th @ Le Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker St, NYC) 10pm
Marc Ribot’s Sunship with special guest Henry Grimes
Marc Ribot & Mary Halvorson (guitars), Henry Grimes (bass) & Chad Taylor (drums)
Thursday, January 13th @ Littlefield (622 Degraw Street, Brooklyn)
Weasel Walter/ Mary Halvorson/ Peter Evans NY record release show!
double bill with Mostly Other People Do The Killing
January 18th-27th
Ingrid Laubrock’s Anti-House- European Tour
Ingrid Laubrock (saxophone), Mary Halvorson (guitar), John Hebert (bass) & Tom Rainey (drums)
Tuesday, January 18th @ Vortex (London, UK)
Wednesday, January 19th @ Moments-Club (Bremen, Germany)
Thursday, January 20th @ Alter Schlachthof (Wels, Austria)
Friday, January 21st @ Paradox (Tilburg, Netherlands)
Sunday, January 23rd @ Loft (Cologne, Germany)
Monday, January 24th @ Cafe Wilhelmina (Eindhoven, Netherlands)
Tuesday, January 25th @ Unterfahrt (Munich, Germany)
Wednesday, January 26th @ Club Gromka (Ljubljana, Slovenia)
Thursday, January 27th @ Porgy and Bess (Vienna, Austria)
Sunday, February 13th @ Cornelia Street Cafe (29 Cornelia St, NYC) 8:30pm
Matt Mitchell’s Central Chain
Matt Mitchell (piano), Tim Berne (saxophone), Oscar Noriega (bass clarinet), Mary Halvorson (guitar), John Hebert (bass) & Tomas Fujiwara (drums)
