I've listened to Mary Halvorson in live
performances two times in the past: once in a small theatre in Italy
with friend and collaborator Jessica Pavone, then in London in a
small but famous club (The Vortex) with her quartet The 13th
Assembly. Some years are passed, but her creative vein is still far
from draining.
A long-time disciple and collaborator
of the multi-awarded composer and reedist Anthony Braxton, and of
other giants of improvised music like Marc Ribot, Halvorson has
released a couple of albums this year. The first, issued in March by
the label Firehouse 12, is titled “Code Girl” and sees Halvorson
heading a quintet of musicians including bassist Michael Formanek,
drummer Tomas Fujiwara (basically her Thumbscrew Trio), Ambrose
Akinmusire on trumpet and Amirtha Kidambi on vocals.
Divided in two Cds, for a total lenght
of 90 minutes, this issue is composed by 14 beautiful songs, a little
bit obliques – they remind me of Robert Wyatt – where there's
space left here and there for some little improvisation. Possibly one
of the best output this year, “Code Girl” is composed by nice
arpeggios, scales and solos on guitar driven by great grooves of the
rhythm section, long melodic tirades on trumpet, some arcos on the
bass and a great vocalist, usually trained in South Indian Carnatic
tradition, but here completely at ease with alt-rock flavoured
melodies.
An advice for all the fans of free
jazz/improvised music: sound needs structure to make sense, and the
AABA structure can be as interesting and smart as our beloved and
chosen composition-with-improvisation scheme. Don't miss the
opportunity to be enriched by this form of art, like any other art:
you won't regret at all.
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