Guitarist Mary Halvorson's project with Chris Speed on sax & clarinet, Eivind Opsvik on bass, and Tomas Fuijwara on drums, a band formed for a one-off concert at the Blue Note in NYC, that continued on based on the strength of the bond between them, as heard on this superb release.
Format: CD Condition: New Released: 2014 Country: USA Packaging: Digipack Recorded at The Bunker in Brooklyn, NY, on December 6th, 2013, by Aaron Nevezie.
"While Mary Halvorson has been active in the creative jazz scene for over a decade, she has truly come into her own in the last three or so years. It is not just that she has appeared on eleven recordings in 2013 alone. Her recent releases Imaginary Sea and Thumbscrew, for example, both exhibit a new level of compositional maturity for the guitarist. Reverse Blue continues that trend.
Her group on this quartet recording includes Chris Speed on tenor saxophone and clarinet, Eivind Opsvik on bass, and Tomas Fujiwara on drums. Halvorson's deliberate, prickly guitar-wielding is on display, with characteristic bent notes and unexpected directions. For instance, her heavy riffing and soloing on the opening track, "Torturer's Reverse Delight", is offset by a more introspective and jazzy approach on "Hako", as well ominous falling tones on Rebel's Revue. All four musicians contribute equally to these efforts, often collaborating in contrapunctal lines and dissonance. Another keeper from Ms. Halvorson."-Mike, Avant Music News