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From the Washington Post:
“Now I can think a little bigger, realize things before that might not have been possible logistically, financially,” said Mary Halvorson, 38. “I have that freedom of time and space. I also want to study.”
Halvorson is a guitarist, composer and ensemble leader who infuses rock, folk and other musical traditions with her jazz background. Jazz is an inherently experimentative form, she said, developed through eras of cultural exchange and sonic improvisation, and she sees her own work, “as intuitive as possible,” as fitting into that legacy.“Rarely do I think about music theory or a particular method,” she said. “I freestyle on the guitar until I get a nugget of a rhythmic idea, a chord or a melody. Often I’ll have compositions that have weird twists and turns.” Experimental art can seem inaccessible to more casual viewers, Halvorson said — but wrestling with its knotty structure or themes can offer a break from tired thinking.
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09-25-2019 09:53 AM
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Way to go, maestra!
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Maybe because I have "van Gough's ear for music," an appreciation of Ms. Halvorson's music (and free jazz in general) is a long road that I haven't travelled very far along. I'm gonna give her music more attention.
As a jazz fan, I'm really happy for her.
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Great. She is still developing her full potential, but any good musician is. Let's hope this award will be really meaningful for her.
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Cool. I find the bigger ensemble she works with, the more interesting I find her music. If she used this grant to work with a big band or orchestra, that would be awesome...her words make me think she might be leaning in this direction...
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Congratulations Mary Halvorson! Recognition is always good, and the accompanying money doesn't hurt.
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Well deserved! She's a humble, creative musician who will only get better as she continues her working life as a jazz musician/composer.
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Wow. This is amazing. I'm so stoked for her. She's one of my favorite guitarists around today. Even in the world of free/improvised/creative music she has a sound completely her own.
For the more adventurous out there, she did a record with Robbie Lee called Seed Triangular that's super interesting.
Allmusic gives a better description than I can: Lee invited Halvorson into a studio to play whatever he gave her: a 19th century Knutsen 18-string harp guitar -- with six bass strings -- a gut-string 1888 SS Stewart banjo, and a 930 Gibson L-2 acoustic guitar. Lee dug out a few curios of his own as well: antique flutes, a Renaissance clarinet chameau, a melodica, and a soprillo saxophone (the size of a piccolo, it is the smallest and possesses the highest register in the sax family).
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I loved hearing that at 6.30am, rmp. Makes me want to seek out the album. And it's a good way to wake the ears up before my porridge.
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Glad you enjoyed it, Rob!
Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
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Just think about supporting...
Seed Triangular | Robbie Lee
Link for the Bandcamp release of Seed Triangular.
(she is my favorite guitarist!)
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Agreed! I bought a copy not long after it came out. Originally Posted by lumena
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I'm in.
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Thanks for the tip about Seed Triangular. I'm really enjoying this CD. A lot of so called free-playing leaves me cold (a 2-hour Archie Shepp concert comes to mind; two hours of my life I'll never get back) but the restraint and musical intelligence both musicians show here make this music really deep and as a listener, you feel you're discovering things along with the performers.
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+1 for the seed triangular link - hadn't heard that before...
Also +1 for Mary Halvorson, good news...Heard her play with Reinier Baas a couple of months ago & was left wanting more...
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She talks well, and her projects are always interesting. Can't say I'm a fan of her foot-pedal effects, but there's plenty other things to like and even love. Go girl!
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She's very well-spoken (in her playing and her speaking). And yes, she needs to lose the delay pedal, everything else is great. So does Bill. (said with love and respect)
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Cool. Good choice. Congrats to Mary!
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A lot of negative comments about this on YouTube but I dig a lot of things about it. The purposeful detuning is something I personally haven't heard (at least since I first took up lap steel). It takes a lot of courage to be yourself in a world where people throw up barriers of expectation.
Last edited by AndyV; 10-09-2019 at 08:09 AM.
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