Bio:
Guitarist and composer Mary Halvorson has been described as “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), and “one of today’s most formidable bandleaders” (Francis Davis, Village Voice), and in recent Downbeat Critics Polls she has been celebrated as guitarist, rising star jazz artist, and rising star composer of the year.
Halvorson has released a series of critically acclaimed albums on the Firehouse 12 label, from Dragon’s Head (2008), her trio debut featuring bassist John Hébert and drummer Ches Smith, expanding to a quintet with trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson and alto saxophonist Jon Irabagon on Saturn Sings (2010) and Bending Bridges (2012), a septet with tenor saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and trombonist Jacob Garchik on Illusionary Sea (2014), and finally an octet with pedal steel guitarist Susan Alcorn on Away With You (2016). She also released the solo recording Meltframe (2015), and most recently debuted Code Girl (2018), a new ensemble featuring vocalist Amirtha Kidambi (singing Halvorson’s own lyrics), trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, bassist Michael Formanek, and drummer Tomas Fujiwara.
One of New York City’s most in-demand guitarists, over the past decade Halvorson has worked with such diverse musicians as Tim Berne, Anthony Braxton, Taylor Ho Bynum, John Dieterich, Trevor Dunn, Bill Frisell, Ingrid Laubrock, Jason Moran, Joe Morris, Tom Rainey, Jessica Pavone, Tomeka Reid, Marc Ribot and John Zorn. She is also part of several collaborative projects, most notably the longstanding trio Thumbscrew with Michael Formanek on bass and Tomas Fujiwara on drums.
Contact Information
Management/Booking:
US Booking and Management
Sruly Lazaros @ Inside The Whale [email protected]
Quotes, Notes & Etc.
“...Mary Halvorson is the most future-seeking guitarist working right now, thinking out the instrument on a level most couldn’t comprehend.”
- Lars Gotrich, NPR.org
“She is the most critically acclaimed jazz guitarist to emerge (in the past dozen years)... an unflinching original who has revealed new possibilities within the music.”
- Nate Chinen, New York Times
“Simply put, no one is making music like this.”
- Lloyd Sachs, JazzTimes
“...Halvorson’s is a devastatingly original voice.”
- Marcus O’Dair, theartsdesk.com
My Recordings
Discography:
UPCOMING RELEASES
Mary Halvorson & John Dieterich- a tangle of stars (New Amsterdam Records, 2019)
Michael Formanek Very Practical Trio- Even Better (Intakt Records, 2019)
CURRENT RELEASES
Taylor Ho Bynum 9-Tette- The Ambiguity Manifesto (Firehouse 12 Records, 2019)
Illegal Crowns- The No-Nosed Puppet (Rogue Art, 2019)
Nate Wooley- Columbia Icefield (Northern Spy, 2019)
Tom Rainey Trio- Combobulated (Intakt Records, 2019)
Joe Morris and Mary Halvorson- Traversing Orbits (Rogue Art, 2018)
Ingrid Laubrock- Contemporary Chaos Practices (Intakt Records, 2018)
Various Artists- A Day in the Life: Impressions of Pepper (Verve Records, 2018)
Robbie Lee and Mary Halvorson- Seed Triangular (New Amsterdam, 2018)
Mary Halvorson with Bill Frisell- The Maid With The Flaxen Hair: A Tribute to Johnny Smith (Tzadik Records, 2018)
Thumbscrew- Ours (Cuneiform Records, 2018)
Thumbscrew- Theirs (Cuneiform Records, 2018)
Mary Halvorson- Code Girl (Firehouse 12 Records, 2018)
María Grand- Magdalena (Biophilia Records, 2018)
Greg Saunier, Mary Halvorson & Ron Miles- New American Songbooks Volume I (Sound American, 2017)
John Zorn- Paimon: Mary Halvorson Quartet plays Masada Book Two (Tzadik Records, 2017)
Tomas Fujiwara- Triple Double (Firehouse 12 Records, 2017)
Jason Moran, Ron Miles and Mary Halvorson- Bangs (Yes Records, 2017)
Elliott Sharp with Marc Ribot and Mary Halvorson- Err Guitar (Intakt Records, 2017)
Sylvie Courvoisier & Mary Halvorson- Crop Circles (Relative Pitch Records, 2017)
Kristo Rodzevski- Bitter Almonds (Much Prefer Records, 2017)
Mary Halvorson Octet- Away With You (Firehouse 12 Records, 2016)
Taylor Ho Bynum- Enter The Plustet (Firehouse 12 Records, 2016)
Taylor Ho Bynum, Mary Halvorson, Tomas Fujiwara & Benoît Delbecq- Illegal Crowns (Rogue Art, 2016)
Mary Halvorson & Noël Akchoté (Noël Akchoté Downloads, 2016)
Thumbscrew- Convallaria (Cuneiform Records, 2016)
Tomas Fujiwara, Ben Goldberg & Mary Halvorson- The Out Louds (Relative Pitch Records, 2016)
Michael Formanek Ensemble Kolossus- The Distance (ECM Records, 2016)
Mary Halvorson solo guitar- Meltframe (Firehouse 12 Records, 2015)
Marc Ribot & The Young Philadelphians- Live in Tokyo (Enja Records, 2015)
Alicia Hall Moran- Heavy Blue (Yes Records, 2015)
Jacob Garchik- Ye Olde (Yestereve Records, 2015)
Tomeka Reid Quartet- S/T (Thirsty Ear Records, 2015)
Tom Rainey Trio- Hotel Greif (Intakt Records, 2015)
Kristo Rodzevski- Batania (Much Prefer Records, 2015)
Ingrid Laubrock’s Anti-House- Roulette of the Cradle (Intakt Records, 2015)
Secret Keeper (Mary Halvorson & Stephan Crump duo)- Emerge (Intakt Records, 2015)
Tomas Fujiwara & The Hook Up- After All Is Said (482 Music, 2015)
Ches Smith & These Arches- International Hoohah (For Tune Records, 2014)
Mary Halvorson- Reverse Blue (with Chris Speed, Eivind Opsvik & Tomas Fujiwara; Relative Pitch Records, 2014)
Ingrid Laubrock Octet- Zurich Concert (Intakt Records, 2014)
People- 3xaWoman: The Misplaced Files (Telegraph Harp, 2014)
Plymouth- Plymouth (Rare Noise Records, 2014)
Mary Halvorson, Michael Formanek & Tomas Fujiwara- Thumbscrew (Cuneiform Records, 2014)
Mary Halvorson Trio- Ghost Loop (For Tune Records, 2013)
Xiu Xiu- Nina (Graveface Records, 2013)
Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet and 7-tette- Navigation (Firehouse 12 Records, 2013)
Anthony Braxton- Trio (NYC) 2011 (New Braxton House, 2013)
Brian Questa Trio- Jazz Booty (Fold by Fold Music, 2013)
Mary Halvorson Septet- Illusionary Sea (Firehouse 12 Records, 2013)
Kirk Knuffke, Mary Halvorson & Matt Wilson- Sifter (Relative Pitch Records, 2013)
Anthony Braxton Septet- Echo Echo Mirror House (Victo Records, 2013)
Secret Keeper (Mary Halvorson & Stephan Crump duo)- Super Eight (Intakt Records, 2013)
Ches Smith & These Arches- Hammered (Clean Feed Records, 2013)
Curtis Hasselbring- Number Stations (Cuneiform Records, 2013)
Ingrid Laubrock Anti-House- Strong Place (Intakt Records, 2013)
Weasel Walter, Mary Halvorson & Peter Evans- Mechanical Malfunction (Thirsty Ear, 2012)
Living by Lanterns- New Myth/Old Science (Cuneiform Records, 2012)
Jessica Pavone- Hope Dawson is Missing (Tzadik, 2012)
Joy Mega- Forever is Something Inside You (New Atlantis, 2012)
Mary Halvorson Quintet- Bending Bridges (Firehouse 12 Records, 2012)
Tomas Fujiwara & The Hook Up- The Air is Different (482 Music, 2012)
Aych- As The Crow Flies (Relative Pitch Records, 2012)
Tom Rainey Trio- Camino Cielo Echo (Intakt Records, 2012)
The Thirteenth Assembly- Station Direct (Important Records, 2011)
Mary Halvorson & Jessica Pavone- Departure of Reason (Thirsty Ear Records, 2011)
Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet- Apparent Distance (Firehouse 12 Records, 2011)
Weasel Walter- Ominous Telepathic Mayhem (UgEXPLODE, 2011)
Weasel Walter, Mary Halvorson & Peter Evans- Electric Fruit (Thirsty Ear Records, 2011)
Matthew Welch- Blarvuster (Tzadik, 2010)
Mary Halvorson Quintet- Saturn Sings (Firehouse 12 Records, 2010)
Tomas Fujiwara & The Hook Up- Actionspeak (482 Music, 2010)
Ches Smith & These Arches- Finally Out Of My Hands (Skirl Records, 2010)
Mary Halvorson & Hubert Bergmann- MixTour EP (Mudoks, 2010)
Ingrid Laubrock- Anti-House (Intakt Records, 2010)
Christian Marclay- Graffiti Composition (Dog W/A Bone, 2010)
Tom Rainey Trio- Pool School (Clean Feed, 2010)
MAP (Tatsuya Nakatani, Mary Halvorson & Reuben Radding)- Fever Dream (Taiga Records, 2010—vinyl only)!
Nate Wooley, Mary Halvorson & Reuben Radding- Crackleknob (HatHut, 2009)
Mary Halvorson & Jessica Pavone- Thin Air (Thirsty Ear Records, 2009)
The Thirteenth Assembly- (un)sentimental (Important Records, 2009)
Mary Halvorson Trio- Dragon’s Head (Firehouse 12 Records, 2008)
Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet- Asphalt Flowers Forking Paths (HatHut Records, 2008)
Anthony Braxton Quartet (Moscow) 2008 (Leo Records, 2008)
Jessica Pavone, Mary Halvorson, Devin Hoff & Ches Smith- Calling All Portraits (Skycap Records, 2008)
Mary Halvorson & Weasel Walter- Opulence (UgEXPLODE, 2008)
Stephen Haynes & Taylor Ho Bynum Double Trio (Engine Records, 2008)
Anthony Braxton 12+1 tet (Victoriaville) 2007 (Victo Records, 2008)
Anthony Braxton Trio (Victoriaville) 2007 (Victo Records, 2007)
People- Misbegotten Man (I & Ear, 2007)
Mary Halvorson & Jessica Pavone- On and Off (Skirl Records, 2007)
Anthony Braxton 12+1tet- 9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006 (Firehouse 12 Records, 2007)
Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet- The Middle Picture (Firehouse 12 Records, 2007)
Ted Reichman’s My Ears are Bent (Skirl Records, 2006)
MPTHREE- Sleep Cells (Utech, 2006)
People- People (I & Ear, 2005)
Mary Halvorson & Jessica Pavone- Prairies (Lucky Kitchen, 2005)
Anthony Braxton Quintet (London) 2004- Live at the Royal Festival Hall (Leo, 2005)
Trevor Dunn’s Trio-Convulsant- Sister Phantom Owl Fish (Ipecac, 2004)
Assif Tsahar’s New York Underground Orchestra- Fragments (Hopscotch, 2004)
Infidel?/Castro! and Friendly Bears- A Split Experience (Rice Control Records, 2003)
MAP- Six Improvisations for Guitar, Bass and Drums (H&H Production, 2003)
The Recôncavo is an almost invisible center-of-gravity. Circumscribing the Bay of All Saints, this region was landing for more enslaved human beings than any other such throughout all of human history. Not unrelated, it is also birthplace of some of the most physically & spiritually uplifting music ever made. —Sparrow
"Dear Sparrow: I am thrilled to receive your email! Thank you for including me in this wonderful matrix."
—Susan Rogers: Personal recording engineer for Prince, inc. "Purple Rain", "Sign o' the Times", "Around the World in a Day"... Director of the Berklee Music Perception and Cognition Laboratory
I'm Pardal here in Brazil (that's "Sparrow" in English). The deep roots of this project are in Manhattan, where Allen Klein (managed the Beatles and The Rolling Stones) called me about royalties for the estate of Sam Cooke... where Jerry Ragovoy (co-wrote Time is On My Side, sung by the Stones; Piece of My Heart, Janis Joplin of course; and Pata Pata, sung by the great Miriam Makeba) called me looking for unpaid royalties... where I did contract and licensing for Carlinhos Brown's participation on Bahia Black with Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock...
...where I rescued unpaid royalties for Aretha Franklin (from Atlantic Records), Barbra Streisand (from CBS Records), Led Zeppelin, Mongo Santamaria, Gilberto Gil, Astrud Gilberto, Airto Moreira, Jim Hall, Wah Wah Watson (Melvin Ragin), Ray Barretto, Philip Glass, Clement "Sir Coxsone" Dodd for his interest in Bob Marley compositions, Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam and others...
...where I worked with Earl "Speedo" Carroll of the Cadillacs (who went from doo-wopping as a kid on Harlem streetcorners to top of the charts to working as a janitor at P.S. 87 in Manhattan without ever losing what it was that made him special in the first place), and with Jake and Zeke Carey of The Flamingos (I Only Have Eyes for You)... stuff like that.
Yeah this is Bob's first record contract, made with Clement "Sir Coxsone" Dodd of Studio One and co-signed by his aunt because he was under 21. I took it to Black Rock to argue with CBS' lawyers about the royalties they didn't want to pay. They paid.
MATRIX MUSICAL
The Matrix was built below among some of the world's most powerfully moving music, some of it made by people barely known beyond village borders. Or in the case of Sodré, his anthem A MASSA — a paean to Brazil's poor ("our pain is the pain of a timid boy, a calf stepped on...") — having blasted from every radio between the Amazon and Brazil's industrial south, before he was silenced. (that's me left, with David Dye & Kim Junod for U.S. National Public Radio) ... The Matrix started with Sodré, with João do Boi, with Roberto Mendes, with Bule Bule, with Roque Ferreira... music rooted in the sugarcane plantations of Bahia. Hence our logo (a cane cutter).