The Squid's Ear Magazine


Halvorson, Mary & Pavone, Jessica: Thin Air (Thirsty Ear)

Beautiful string work and lovely and unusual vocals from the duo of Mary Halvorson & Jessica Pavone, music of "stark clarity and introspection."
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Mary Halvorson-Guitar, Vocals

Jessica Pavone-Viola, Vocals


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UPC: 700435718821

Label: Thirsty Ear
Catalog ID: THI 57188.2
Squidco Product Code: 12861

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2009
Country: USA
Packaging: Jewel Tray
Recorded at Leon Lee Dorsey Studios, NYC, NY on October 18, 2008 by Anthony Ruotolo

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Mary Halvorson & Jessica Pavone have collectively been featured in The New York Times, Jazz Review, The Wire, Time Out New York, Time Out Chicago, The New York Press, Jazztimes, All About Jazz, BBC and Downbeat. From the collaborative minds and nimble fingers of Mary Halvorson (Guitar, Vocals) and Jessica Pavone (Viola, Vocals) come a minimalist rendering of emotions and themes, performed with stark clarity and introspection. Thin Air is a presentation involving their vast talents as musicians, vocalists and poets. Their lyrics borrow from themes relating to everything from human relationships and travelling to more abstract and intangible elements. These melodies are offered in a sparse yet effervescent style that make the listener feel as though they are sitting right next to them, much like an impromptu coffeehouse performance. Both intimate and forward thinking, this release is a true example of the power of thought, through a unique blending of avant folk with jazz underpinnings."-Thirsty Ear


Artist Biographies

"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 six 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, Myra Melford, Jason Moran, Joe Morris, Tom Rainey and Mike Reed.

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 has been recognized as a rising star jazz band by Downbeat Magazine for five consecutive years. Ms. Halvorson's quintet, which adds trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson and alto saxophonist Jon Irabagon to the trio, has released two critically acclaimed albums on the Firehouse 12 label: Saturn Sings and Bending Bridges. Most recently she has added two additional band members-tenor saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and trombonist Jacob Garchik-to form a septet, featured on her 2013 release Illusionary Sea. Ms. Halvorson also co-leads a longstanding chamber-jazz duo with violist Jessica Pavone, the avant-rock band People and the collective ensembles Thumbscrew and Secret Keeper."

-Mary Halvorson Website (http://www.maryhalvorson.com/bio/)
3/6/2019

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Jessica Pavone (composer, viola, violin, el.bass) has performed in countless improvisation, avant jazz, experimental, folk, soul, and chamber ensembles since moving to NYC in 2000. She currently plays with Normal Love, in a duo with guitarist Mary Halvorson, with Anthony Braxton's ensembles and as a solo violist. As a composer, The Wire magazine praised her "ability to transform a naked tonal gesture into something special," and The New York Times described her music as "distinct and beguiling...its core is steely, and its execution clear."

Pavone's recent works for solo viola and voice stem from years of concentrated long tone practice and an interest in repetition, song form, and sympathetic vibration. She combines her long tone rituals with delay, understated melodies and sparse lyrical content while continuously experimenting with new forms. She is interested in the physicality of performing her somewhat larger-than-comfortable instrument and believes that cultivating physical bodies as a strong container for her thoughts is part of the creative process.

As an instrumentalist, she has personally worked with and interpreted new music by; Aaron Seigel, Andrew Raffo Dewar, Elliott Sharp, Glenn Branca, Henry Threadgill, Leo Smith, Jason Ajemian, Jason Cady, Jeremiah Cymerman, John King, Matana Roberts, Matthew Welch, Tristan Perich, Tyondai Braxton and William Parker; and, has played strings in bands such as Christy and Emily, Pure Horsehair, White Blue Yellow and Clouds, Joy Mega, and The Artificials.

Pavone has toured extensively throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe, performing in venues ranging from international music festivals, universities, and art galleries, to community centers and basements. Her music has premiered in venues in New York City such as, Roulette, Issue Project Room, and The Kitchen, and at the Klangbad Festival in Sheer, Germany. In 2011 she was featured in NPR's "The Mix: 100 Composers Under 40." She has received grants and commissions from the Aaron Copland Recording Fund, the American Music Center, New Music USA for her collaboration with choreographer, Anna Sperber, The Kitchen, MATA, The Jerome Foundation, The Tri-Centric Foundation, Experiments in Opera, and the chamber music collective, Till By Turning."

-Jessica Pavone Website (http://www.jessicapavone.com/bio.htm)
3/6/2019

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. ... and Goodnight 2:46

2. Barber 3:33

3. For You or Them 4:19

4. Juice 4:39

5. Lullabye 6:02

6. Sinking 5:23

7. Ten Years 2:52

8. Thin Air 7:04

Related Categories of Interest:

Thirsty Ear

Improvised Music
Jazz
Compositional Forms
Stringed Instruments
Song Based Music
NY Downtown & Jazz/Improv
Duo Recordings
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