About Mary Halvorson

One of improvised music’s most in-demand guitarists, Mary Halvorson works with such notable bandleaders as Tim Berne, Anthony Braxton, Taylor Ho Bynum, Tomas Fujiwara, Curtis Hasselbring, Ingrid Laubrock, Tom Rainey and Marc Ribot when not leading her own groups, which include her trio, quintet, septet and Reverse Blue. She’s also a member of the collective ensembles Mary Halvorson & Jessica Pavone, Secret Keeper, The Thirteenth Assembly and Thumbscrew.

Critics have called her “a singular talent” (Lloyd Sachs, JazzTimes), ”NYC’s least-predictable improviser” (Howard Mandel, City Arts), “one of the most exciting and original guitarists in jazz—or otherwise” (Steve Dollar, Wall Street Journal), “a terrifically exciting composer” (Jez Nelson, BBC 3′s Jazz on 3) and “one of today’s most formidable bandleaders” (Francis Davis, Village Voice). The Philadelphia City Paper‘s Shaun Brady adds, “Halvorson has been steadily reshaping the sound of jazz guitar in recent years with her elastic, sometimes-fluid, sometimes-shredding, wholly unique style.”

Featured Discography

Mary Halvorson Quintet, Bending Bridges (Firehouse 12, 2012)

Sinks When She Rounds The Bend (No. 22) 

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Hemorrhaging Smiles (No. 25)

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Tomas Fujiwara & The Hook Up, The Air is Different (482 Music, 2012)

Lineage

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Double Lake, Defined

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Tom Rainey Trio, Camino Cielo Echo (Intakt Records, 2012)

Expectation of Exception

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Fluster

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Mary Halvorson & Jessica Pavone, Departure Of Reason (Thirsty Ear, 2011)

That Other Thing

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The Object Of Tuesday

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The Thirteenth Assembly, Station Direct (Important Record, 2011)

Nosedive

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Prosthetic Chorizo

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

Mile High Like (No. 16)

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Crescent White Singe (No. 13)

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Mary Halvorson Trio, Dragon’s Head (Firehouse 12 Records, 2008)

Old Nine Two Six Four Two Dies (No. 10)

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Momentary Lapse (No. 1)

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