Bending Bridges Mary Halvorson

• 1Sinks When She Rounds the Bend, No. 2207:46
• 2Hemorrhaging Smiles, No. 2507:57
• 3Forgotten Men in Silver, No. 2407:59
• 4Love in Eight Colors, No. 2110:12
• 5The Periphery of Scandal, No. 2307:45
• 6The Old Sound, No. 2704:46
• 7Sea Cut Like Snow, No. 2607:03
• 8Deformed Weight of Hands, No. 2806:48
• 9All the Clocks, No. 2907:47
• Total Runtime01:08:03

Info for Bending Bridges

Bending Bridges is Brooklyn-based guitarist/composer Mary Halvorson’s second recording with her working quintet and third consecutive title as a leader on Firehouse 12 Records. As on 2010’s Saturn Sings, which appeared on nearly 100 best-of-the-year lists, she is joined by trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson, saxophonist Jon Irabagon, bassist John Hébert and drummer Ches Smith for a program of new original compositions written specifically for this ensemble.

"Saturn Sings felt like a beginning," she explains. "When that album was recorded, the band had only been together for a year and we had only played a handful of gigs. Since then, we have played together much more often, our sound has developed and we have become increasingly comfortable with the music and with each other. The more I get to know the quintet, the easier it becomes to compose for that instrumentation, and for those musicians specifically. Plus, over time the whole band becomes more relaxed, which allows us to take more risks during performances. That’s a huge part of why I try to keep my bands together for a long time."

Ms. Halvorson’s work with her quintet, which will hit the road this spring and summer in support of Bending Bridges, has inspired critics to call her "extraordinary" (John Fordham, BBC 3’s Jazz on 3), "hugely inventive" (John Corbett, DownBeat), "daringly unpredictable" (The New Yorker), "a distinct voice of her own" (Carl Wilson, Slate), "the most original jazz guitarist in a generation" (Michael J. West, Washington City Paper), "a multi-faceted artist whose writing is as impressive as her improvising" (Troy Collins, Point of Departure) and "one of today’s most formidable bandleaders" (Francis Davis, Village Voice).

"Of the trio outings, "Forgotten Men In Silver" is particularly fine. A deceptively simple air emerges from a scratchy bass/drum interlude before being subjected to characteristic deconstruction, while on "That Old Sound," the languor is spiked by an insistent, questioning jangle which sets the mood for the ensuing interaction. But really, each cut repays close attention. How could Bending Bridges be improved? Perhaps only by featuring the full quintet throughout." (AllAboutJazz)

Mary Halvorson, guitar
Jonathan Finlayson, trumpet
Jon Irabagon, alto saxophone
John Hebert, string bass
Ches Smith, drums

Recorded, Mixed & Mastered by Nick Lloyd
Produced by Mary Halvorson
Co-Produced by Taylor Ho Bynum and Nick Lloyd

Mary Halvorson
One of improvised music’s most in-demand guitarists, Mary Halvorson has been active in New York since 2002, following jazz studies at Wesleyan University and the New School. 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), 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.”

After three years of study with visionary composer and saxophonist Anthony Braxton, Ms. Halvorson became an active member of several of his bands, including his trio, septet and 12+1tet. To date, she appears on over ten of Mr. Braxton’s recordings. Ms. Halvorson has also performed alongside iconic guitarist Marc Ribot, in his bands Sun Ship and The Young Philadelphians, and with the bassist Trevor Dunn in his Trio-Convulsant. Over the past decade she has worked with such diverse bandleaders as Tim Berne, Taylor Ho Bynum, Tomas Fujiwara, Ingrid Laubrock, Jason Moran, Joe Morris, Tom Rainey, Tomeka Reid and John Zorn.

As a bandleader and composer, one of Ms. Halvorson’s primary outlets is her longstanding trio, featuring bassist John Hébert and drummer Ches Smith. Since their 2008 debut album, Dragon’s Head, the band was recognized as a rising star jazz band by Downbeat Magazine for five consecutive years. Most recently she has formed an octet, adding trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson, saxophonists Jon Irabagon and Ingrid Laubrock, trombonist Jacob Garchik, and pedal steel guitarist Susan Alcorn. Their debut 2016 release, Away With You, on the Firehouse 12 Record label, was called “radiant” by the New York Times and “one of the most intricate and entrancing sets of her career” by Pitchfork. Ms. Halvorson is also a part of several collaborative projects including Thumbscrew (with Michael Formanek and Tomas Fujiwara), Secret Keeper (with Stephan Crump), a chamber-jazz duo with violist Jessica Pavone, and the avant-rock band People.

This album contains no booklet.