Tracklist :
1 Camp Easy 6:41
Tomas Fujiwara
2 Sequel to Sadness 6:14
Mary Halvorson
3 Never Is Enough 6:54
Michael Formanek
4 Through an Open Window 5:33
Tomas Fujiwara
5 Heartdrop 4:47
Mary Halvorson
6 Emojis Have Consequences 5:55
Michael Formanek
7 Fractured Sanity 5:43
Mary Halvorson
8 Unsung Procession 6:25
Tomas Fujiwara
9 Scam Likely 8:36
Michael Formanek
Credits :
Double Bass, Electric Bass – Michael Formanek
Drums – Tomas Fujiwara
Guitar – Mary Halvorson
For the Love of Fire and Water marks the recorded debut of pianist/composer Myra Melford's 2021's quintet featuring guitarist Mary Halvorson, cellist Tomeka Reid, saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, and drummer Susie Ibarra. All are notable bandleaders. She put the group together to play a one-off during a 2019 residency; afterwards, she was asked to record and tour with the quartet. Melford composed for this group during 2020's COVID-19 quarantine, and it was recorded in 2021 at Firehouse 12's New Haven, Connecticut studio. Melford wrote from the developmental core of a multi-part work inspired by the drawings of artist Cy Twombly, and her work will be further developed and expanded upon while touring. This installment uses the visual artist's Gaeta Set (For the Love of Fire and Water) drawings as inspiration.
Rogue Art divides the continuous 44-minute work into ten numbered selections for listening convenience, but it's performed continuously. The intro section finds Melford laying percussively wrought chord clusters for a couple of minutes before Reid enters to dialogue with her. Ibarra joins halfway through, rolling, accenting, and filling the space between. Laubrock joins a minute later, adding blips, trilled lines, and interjections in direct conversation before Halvorson appears with multi-note runs and a solo supported by rumbling undercurrents from her bandmates. A syncopated four-chord piano pulse introduces a melody in "II" played by the saxophonist and guitarist, who weave solo interactions throughout post-bop and modal blues as the piano and drums pace them. Reid offers tonal fluidity and physical energy in the middle section, pushing the group toward free interplay. The delicately articulated and gorgeously restrained processional pace of "IV" gives way to "V"'s interlude-like splintered piano chord voicings and bleating sax in a mirror image of its preceding section. "VI" is rendered abstractly as Halvorson and Melford pluck and rub their strings and Laubrock airlessly fingers the holes in her horn with a fixed, pulse-like steadiness. Shard-like guitar chords emerge suddenly and disappear just as quickly as Ibarra taps brushes and sticks over the metal frames on her kit. Reid joins during the final third, playing arco in drone-like accompaniment before Ibarra adds resonance on detuned gongs. "VII" crisscrosses free jazz and blues as Halvorson bends strings while laying down rock chords over wonky rhythmic piano accompaniment. Laubrock joins the dialogue, then assumes the spotlight. "VIII" begins with syncopated handclaps before Reid and Ibarra deliver a kinetic dialogue rich in dynamics. The final section is a beautifully articulated ballad drawn from classical, Italian folk, and flamenco sources. As Halvorson, Reid, and Laubrock add poignant, gorgeously abstract, gently dissonant solo flourishes, Melford anchors the harmonic melody as her band jointly embellishes and complements her playing at will, with a gentle, yet dramatically poetic finish. Whether or not For the Love of Fire and Water is appended by additional thematically related works is immaterial. It stands alone as an entire universe in sound, musical virtuosity, and intimately balanced communication. For now, Melford makes use of all that her quintet has to offer.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1 I 7:53
2 II 2:11
3 III 3:17
4 IV 5:21
5 V 2:40
6 VI 4:26
7 VII 6:25
8 VIII 2:56
9 IX 4:16
10 X 4:50
Credits :
Cello – Tomeka Reid
Drums, Percussion – Susie Ibarra
Guitar – Mary Halvorson
Piano, Melodica, Composed By [All Compositions By] – Myra Melford
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Ingrid Laubrock
Artlessly Falling is the second album by Mary Halvorson's Code Girl. Its core remains Halvorson on guitar; Tomas Fujiwara on drums; Amirtha Kidambi on vocals, and Michael Formanek on bass. Trumpeter Adam O'Farrill replaces Ambrose Akinmusire, and Maria Grand is added on tenor saxophone and voice. The date also includes three vocal cameos by Robert Wyatt. A primary influence on Halvorson, she composed these songs especially for him. Her lyrics throughout reflect not only detailed attention but a methodology in which each poem strategically conforms to its accompanying musical construct. Artlessly Falling showcases deeply focused, expansively articulated, abstract musical languages that remain warm and welcoming, even amid dissonance.
"Lemon Trees" is a nearly exotic mutant waltz introduced by Halvorson's circular guitar pattern as Kidambi and Grand wordlessly vocalize behind Wyatt, who delivers the lyrics in a lithe, world-weary tenor. O'Farrill fills in behind him until the stanza ends and he solos as Fujiwara and Halvorson support. The feel is buoyant and airy. Kidambi's wordless groan meets Formanek's dark bassline in "Last-Minute Smears" before Fujiwara's snare and beer-can percussion frame an elliptical melody articulated by Halvorson's striated chords. O'Farrill's serpentine trumpet and Grand's tenor emotively entwine themselves around one another before Kidambi includes a particularly venomous and vengeful quote from Justice Brett Kavanaugh, providing a bewildered sense of dislocation and primeval conviction. While "Walls and Roses" is introduced by Fujiwara's cymbals and Halvorson's fingerpicking under Wyatt's vocal; it erupts in under a minute as the guitarist unleashes distorted shredding. Kidambi calms her on the second stanza, but Halvorson shakes loose here, and between each succeeding exchanged stanza, as Fujiwara and Formanek brace her screaming lead lines. The amorphous structure of "Muzzling Unwashed" is a set highlight as trumpet, guitar, bass, and drums create an exotic backdrop for Kidambi's languid delivery. "Bigger Flames" commences with Halvorson's playing simulating an electric ukulele amid a shimmering snare cascade from Fujiwara, bittersweet horn lines, and slippery time signatures. Backing vocals enter and leave at odd junctures, while Halvorson interjects loudly over Wyatt as the tune turns in on itself. "Mexican War Streets (Pittsburgh)" and "A Nearing" each clock in at over ten minutes. The former balances form and abstraction with lyrical playing from the soloists until Halvorson whomps on a Black Sabbath-like power riff that sends the band toward free improv. The latter, introduced by a long solo from Formanek, offers detailed ensemble playing a complex melody that is expanded by Kidambi and the guitarist with help from O'Farrill. When it cuts loose, powerful soloing from the horns and guitarist stridently engage dissonant post-bop. The title track begins like an indie folk tune, highlighted by Kidambi's tender singing. A minute in, Halvorson's slide guitar ushers in shapeshifting changes and kinetic exchanges between players. The tune sends Artlessly Falling out with dramatic, emotional resonance. This remarkable album cannot be quantified, only experienced. Mary Halvorson's Code Girl are so mercurial in method and content -- and mystifying in execution -- they actually deserve their own genre.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1 The Lemon Trees 7:15
Written-By – Mary Halvorson
Voice – Robert Wyatt
2 Last-Minute Smears 8:58
Written-By – Mary Halvorson
Percussion [Beer Cans] – Tomas Fujiwara
3 Walls And Roses 3:33
Written-By – Mary Halvorson
Voice – Robert Wyatt
4 Muzzling Unwashed 10:51
Written-By – Mary Halvorson
5 Bigger Flames 5:15
Written-By – Mary Halvorson
Voice – Robert Wyatt
6 Mexican War Streets (Pittsburgh) 10:40
Written-By – Mary Halvorson
7 A Nearing 10:32
Written-By – Mary Halvorson
8 Artlessly Falling 7:15
Written-By – Mary Halvorson
Credits :
Bass – Michael Formanek
Drums – Tomas Fujiwara
Guitar – Mary Halvorson
Tenor Saxophone, Voice – Maria Grand
Trumpet – Adam O'Farrill
Voice – Amirtha Kidambi
Written-By – Mary Halvorson
3 Compositions (EEMHM) 2011 features the first studio recordings of Braxton’s Echo Echo Mirror House Music—the latest conceptual innovation in Braxton’s five-decade career. With his Ghost Trance Music, Braxton created a framework for his musicians to freely explore his entire compositional output in each concert; with his Diamond Curtain Wall music, he brought his own interactive electronics into his improvisational palette. Now with Echo Echo Mirror House Music, Anthony Braxton brings these ideas to the next level. In this ensemble of longtime collaborators, all the musicians wield iPods in addition to their instruments, while navigating scores that combine cartography and evocative graphic notation, creating a musical tapestry combining live performance and sampled sound from Braxton’s extensive recorded discography.
Impeccably recorded at Firehouse 12’s state-of-the-art studio, the music is available in two formats: a traditional three-CD box set and a 5.1 Surround Sound audiophile Blu-ray disc. “As a culture, we are slowly moving away from target linear experiences that are framed as stationary constructs that don’t change on repeated listening, to a new world that constantly serves up fresh opportunities and interactive discourse,” Braxton says. “American people have made it clear that the new times will call for dynamic inter-action experiences.” https://firehouse12records.com
Tracklist :
1-1 Composition No. 372 57:54
2-1 Composition No. 373 59:26
3-1 Composition No. 377 58:14
Credits :
Artwork [All Images By] – Anthony Braxton
Bass, Bass Clarinet, Electronics [iPod] – Carl Testa
Composed By [All Compositions By] – Anthony Braxton
Cornet, Flugelhorn, Brass [Trumpbone], Electronics [iPod] – Taylor Ho Bynum
Guitar, Electronics [iPod] – Mary Halvorson
Percussion, Vibraphone [Vibes], Electronics [iPod] – Aaron Siegel
Producer [Produced By] – Anthony Braxton
Sopranino Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Electronics [iPod] – Anthony Braxton
Tuba, Electronics [iPod] – Jay Rozen
Viola, Violin, Electronics [iPod] – Jessica Pavone
GTM (Iridium) 2007 Volume 3 - Set 1
1 Composition No.259 52:53
Bass – Carl Testa
Cornet – Taylor Ho Bynum
Ensemble – Anthony Braxton Septet
Guitar – Mary Halvorson
Percussion – Aaron Siegel
Reeds, Composed By – Anthony Braxton
Tuba – Jay Rozen
Viola – Jessica Pavone
GTM (Iridium) 2007 Volume 3 - Set 2
1 Composition No. 346 1:01:12
Bass – Carl Testa
Bassoon – Katie Young
Cornet – Taylor Ho Bynum
Ensemble – Anthony Braxton Septet + 2
Guitar – Mary Halvorson
Percussion – Aaron Siegel
Reeds – Matt Bauder
Reeds, Composed By – Anthony Braxton
Tuba – Jay Rozen
Viola – Jessica Pavone
If you thought that Anthony Braxton's last great quartet -- with Marilyn Crispell, Gerry Hemingway, and Mark Dresser -- would be his final great band, it's time to rethink your position. As evidenced by this Leo documentation of the new Braxton quintet's performance in London during 2004, with a band he has kept together since that time, he's assembled another one. Performing an hourlong set made up of "Composition 343," this young band blew the ceiling off the joint. Braxton switches horns here a lot -- in addition to his spare, knotty soprano sax he also plays alto, tenor, and clarinet. The drummer in this band is the great Satoshi Takeishi. The trumpet chair is held by Taylor Ho Bynum, with Chris Dahlgren on bass and the truly amazing Mary Halvorson on guitar. The piece begins with Braxton's soprano, a lean yet crisp electric guitar, muted trumpet, double bass, and tom-tom-accented drums, all playing a series of stop-and-start motifs that act as a prolonged head on the work. The band returns to it numerous times in the 49-minute duration as different themes and improvisations are introduced. The engagement between players here is uncanny. Once the head falls away and the ordered improvisation takes its place, guitar and alto move toward one another and then engage in contrapuntal interplay. Then Ho Bynum's trumpet moves toward Braxton's guttural squealing on the alto -- where he uses his voice underneath to make angry, almost animal-like sounds à la Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders on Live in Seattle -- as the horn ceases to be expressive enough for his purposes. In long quiet segments where one, two, or three instruments speak to one another with large spaces between, the silence becomes a part of the work. Braxton blows the hell out of his tenor to bring it all back. The labyrinthine theme begins again, but is abandoned in favor of space once more. The drama and dynamic changes are breathtaking in places, and the tensions created are almost unbearable as Braxton has never shown a willingness to resolve them in his work. When it's done, the members of the audience are astonished at what they have witnessed (a feeling doubtless shared by anyone who takes this recording in with repeated listenings and an open mind), breathing a sigh of relief and greeting Braxton and company with a rowdy ovation. The second cut here, entitled "Composition 343, Pt. 2," is actually the band's encore and feels like a freely improvised work. It's playful, humorous, and musically exciting with great attention given to both Ho Bynum and Halvorson whirling around one another before the entire band joins the fun with verve and energy. Many do not recognize Braxton's wry sense of humor, which is full play here. At its end, "Composition 343" is a truly fine piece of the Braxton canon, played here by bandmembers who knew how to get to that place in his mind that only he really knows. Brilliant and highly recommended.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1 Composition 343, Pt. 1 49:18
Anthony Braxton
2 Composition 343, Pt. 2 10:52
Anthony Braxton
Credits :
Bass – Chris Dahlgren
Guitar – Mary Halvorson
Music By – Anthony Braxton
Percussion – Satoshi Takeishi
Reeds – Anthony Braxton
Trumpet – Taylor Ho Bynum
Tracklist :
1 Composition No. 361 1:10:43
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Sopranino Saxophone – Steve Lehman
Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet – James Fei
Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Sopranino Saxophone, Contrabass Clarinet, Illustration [Drawing] – Anthony Braxton
Bassoon, Suona – Sara Schoenbeck
Cornet, Bugle, Brass [Trompbone], Bass Trumpet, Piccolo Trumpet, Performer [Coques], Performer [Sourdines (Mutes)] – Taylor Ho Bynum
Double Bass, Electric Bass, Bass Clarinet – Carl Testa
Electric Guitar – Mary Halvorson
Flute, Alto Flute, Bass Flute, Piccolo Flute, Voice – Nicole Mitchell
Percussion, Vibraphone – Aaron Siegel
Saxophone [C], Soprano Saxophone, Clarinet – Andrew Raffo Dewar
Trombone, Bugle [Coulisse], Cymbal, Performer [Sourdines] – Reut Regev
Tuba, Euphonium, Performer [Sourdines] – Jay Rozen
Violin, Electric Bass – Jessica Pavone
This is the third documentation of Anthony Braxton's Diamond Curtain Wall Trio to be released, the third lineup to be featured, and the first presented in single-disc format. The first performance released was part of the Phonomanie four-CD set and featured percussionist Aaron Siegel alongside Braxton and trumpeter Taylor Ho Bynum. The second recording issued was a double-CD set where guitarist Tom Crean replaced Siegel. On this set recorded live at the 2007 FIMAV in Victoriaville, Quebec, guitarist Mary Halvorson rounds up the trio. Halvorson plays in Braxton's 12+1tet and in some of Bynum's projects, but it was her first performance as a member of the Diamond Curtain Wall Trio, although that fact never shows in the hourlong piece. This trio is Braxton's vehicle for experimenting with computer electronics -- a field he had not explored prior to 2005. He has programmed in SuperCollider a number of electronic fragments to serve as gateways to other regions of his composition system. Surprisingly, these computer interventions are non-intrusive, yet exert a presence strong enough to effectively steer the music in different directions. But the real showcase at that performance -- and on the record -- is the huge array of saxophones Braxton uses: six instruments ranging from sopranino to contrabass sax, the larger versions of Adolphe's baby resting on stands the 60-year-old eagerly dragged to and fro on the stage. Bynum has an equally impressive collection of instruments within reach, from cornet to trombone, not to mention a wide selection of mutes. Of course, it is never the size or variety of the equipment that makes a good musician, but the sound palette is unusually rich here. More important, though, is the music itself: highly focused, dense, and naturally flowing. Halvorson fits right in, her creativity a match to the hornmen. The piece, "Composition No. 323c," is rather calm and pensive, with occasional lyrical moments, like Bynum's trumpet lines around the 25th minute or a very quiet bridge of strummed guitar chords. Sound quality is also a major incentive in recommending this CD over Braxton's other trio recordings from this period. This is simply one of Braxton's freshest albums of the decade. François Couture
Tracklist :
1 Composition No. 323c 59:36
Credits :
Cornet, Bugle, Performer [Trompbone], Trumpet [Bass Trumpet, Piccolo Trumpet], Performer [Coques], Performer [Sourdines] – Taylor Ho Bynum
Electric Guitar – Mary Halvorson
Ensemble – Diamond Curtain Wall Trio
Sopranino Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Bass Saxophone, Contrabass Saxophone, Electronics – Anthony Braxton
On June 29, 2008, Anthony Braxton's Diamond Curtain Wall Quartet performed live at the DOM Cultural Center in Moscow. Within months, a 73-minute recording of the gig was released by Leo Records, the U.K.-based label which first attracted international attention in the '80s with a series of records by the Ganelin Trio and other Russian free jazz players, many of whom who were persecuted by the Soviet government for pursuing individualistic paths which, in retrospect, were in creative alignment with what the Braxton unit presented near the heart of Moscow in 2008. In the weeks leading up to his arrival in the former U.S.S.R., Braxton's itinerary included a visit to West Orange, New Jersey to record the album Beyond Quantum with William Parker and Milford Graves; a session with multi-woodwind artist Ben Opie, several ambitious undertakings with larger ensembles in Pittsburgh, and a trio date in Berlin involving Serge modular synthesizer handler Andre Vida and drummer Corey Fogel. Small wonder then that in the album cover photo he looks a bit tired, if clearly elated. The performance preserved on this album consists of Composition 367 B followed by a three-minute encore. Braxton blew soprano and alto saxophones as well as E-flat and contrabass clarinets. He is heard interacting with his student and collaborator Taylor Ho Bynum, an accomplished cornetist from Boston who also employed bass trumpet, valve trombone, flügelhorn, and piccolo trumpet. The third wind instrumentalist in this group was bassoonist Katherine Young, an adventuresome soul who was a member of Braxton's Falling River Quartet and his Tri-Centric Orchestra. Young has also recorded with flutist Andrew Raffo Dewar. The inclusion of electric guitarist Mary Halvorson over a swath of computer-generated sounds added several extra dimensions to the already multifaceted Diamond Curtain Wall Quartet. The Quartet's next recording (Composition 367 C and an encore) was made at the Candiani Summer Fest in Mestre, Italy on the first of July and issued in 2011 by Caligola Records as Quartet (Mestre) 2008. Braxton did not remain in Italy for very long. Eleven days later, he was back home in Connecticut at Wesleyan University recording a pair of extended duets with pianist Maral Yakshieva. arwulf arwulf
Tracklist :
1 Composition 367b 1:10:04
2 Encore 3:01
Credits :
Bassoon – Katherine Young
Cornet, Flugelhorn, Piccolo Trumpet, Bass Trumpet, Valve Trombone – Taylor Ho Bynum
Electric Guitar – Mary Halvorson
Sopranino Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Contrabass Clarinet, Music By – Anthony Braxton
After 13 years and 32 CDs Zorn’s expansive “Book of Angels” project is now complete! This final installment presents the last 10 unrecorded compositions from “Masada Book Two” and the variety, drama and lyricism is just as strong as the very first volume. Mary Halvorson, a longtime Masada fan and one of the most acclaimed guitarists of her generation, leads a dynamic quartet featuring Miles Okazaki, Drew Gress and Tomas Fujiwara. The music is intense, 
wild and incredibly varied—a beautiful and fitting conclusion to this historic Masada series—hailed as one of Zorn’s best! TZADIK
Tracklist :
1 Chaskiel 4:01
2 Beniel 3:25
3 Ruhiel 3:28
4 Dahariel 4:11
5 Yeqon 5:04
6 Uzza 4:04
7 Verchiel 5:08
8 Jesodoth 1:52
9 Phul 5:32
10 Rachmiah 4:28
Credits :
Arranged By – Mary Halvorson
Bass – Drew Gress
Drums – Tomas Fujiwara
Guitar – Mary Halvorson, Miles Okazaki
Producer, Composed By – John Zorn
One of the greatest slide guitarists of the early blues era, and a man with an odd fascination with the kazoo, Tampa Red also fancied himsel...
