Photo: Peter Gannushkin

Longtime collaborators Mary Halvorson and Jessica Pavone will hit the road later this month for a series of New England tour dates in support of their newly released fourth recording, Departure of Reason (Thirsty Ear).

Tuesday, February 14th at 8:00 p.m.
The Brick House Community Resource Center
Turner Falls, Massachusetts

Thursday, February 16th at 8:30 p.m.
Buoy Gallery
Kittery, Maine

Friday, February 17th at 7:30 p.m.
Spaulding Recital Hall
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester, Massachusetts

Saturday, February 18th at 8:00 p.m.
The Uncertainty Music Series
The BIG ROOM 
New Haven, Connecticut

“One gets the sense that the music goes wherever whimsy takes guitarist Mary Halvorson and Jessica Pavone,” writes JazzTimes‘ Steve Greenlee in his review of Departure of Reason. “Their music is insanely hard to pin down: It draws from jazz, folk, rock, modern classical and even medieval—sometimes all in one song, or so it seems…it is an inaccessible delight.”

“Given their remarkable history on previous recordings—most notably 2009′s Thin Air—the unique musical vocabulary they’ve established together should come as no surprise,” explains AllMusic.com’s Thom Jurek. “It is instinctive, formal, articulate, and full of subtleties, humor, and—even in song form—unique insight.”

AllAboutJazz.com’s Troy Collins adds, “each sinuous turn of phrase and abrupt change in accompaniment reveals an ever deeper level of virtuosic interplay. 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.”

Learn more about the musicians at maryhalvorson.com and jessicapavone.com

Tonight at 7:00 p.m., veteran jazz guitarist and composer Michael Musillami will celebrate the forthcoming release of his latest record, Mettle (Playscape Recordings), with a free concert at The Hotchkiss School‘s Esther Eastman Music Center in Lakeville, Connecticut.

Musillami, who directs the Hotchkiss Jazz Ensemble (aka Right Brain Logic), will perform with his new septet, the Michael Musillami Trio + 4, an augmented version of his longstanding trio with bassist Joe Fonda and drummer George Schuller that’s celebrating its 10th anniversary as a working unit in 2012. They’ll be joined by special guests Russ Johnson (trumpet), Ned Rothenberg (alto saxophone and clarinet), Jeff Lederer (tenor saxophone and clarinet) and Peter Madsen (piano).

The group will play selections from Mettle, which officially hits the streets on February 7th, as well as other original material specially arranged for this combination of musicians. That includes a new piece called “Of The Brave”, which Right Brain Logic performed at their concert in early December under Musillami’s direction. Saxophonist Charles Tokarz, who also teaches at Hotchkiss, will join Musillami’s group for the composition’s official debut.

Owen McNally previews both the performance and the record in his feature for the Hartford Courant.

Learn more at http://michaelmusillami.com and http://playscape-recordings.com

Photo by Napone Punyagupta

On Sunday, July 3rd at 7:30 p.m., Michael Musillami Trio + 4 will perform as part of The Hotchkiss School’s Summer Concert Series at the Esther Eastman Music Center’s Katherine M. Elfers Hall in Lakeville, Connecticut.

Led by veteran jazz guitarist Michael Musillami, the school’s longtime Director of Jazz Studies, the septet will premiere three all-new extended compositions from Natural Direction (Playscape Recordings), his forthcoming 17th release as a bandleader.

The Michael Musillami Trio + 4 augments Musillami’s longstanding flagship trio, featuring bassist Joe Fonda and drummer George Schuller, with Russ Johnson (trumpet), Matt Moran (vibraphone), Ned Rothenberg (alto saxophone and clarinet) and Jeff Lederer (tenor saxophone and clarinet).

Critics called the Michael Musillami Trio’s most recent release, 2010′s Old Tea (Playscape Recordings), “a moving, masterful suite” (Owen McNally, Hartford Courant), “guitar-led trio jazz at its best” (Simon Adams, Jazz Journal), and “nothing short of extraordinary” (Nic Jones, AllAboutJazz.com).

“Musillami is one of the most accessible thinking-man’s guitarists,” wrote DownBeat‘s Lloyd Sachs. “Whether he’s waxing lyrical with his richly resonant sound and sculpted lines or charging into the open field with springing and vaulting rhythmic patterns, there is a soulful immediacy to his playing.”

The Rochester City Paper‘s Ron Netsky adds, “Drummer George Schuller and bassist Joe Fonda are so tuned in to Musillami’s wavelength that when the group really gets going, it functions as a single living organism.”

Learn more about Michael Musillami at http://michaelmusillami.com