“Light years ahead of her peers, (Halvorson) is the most impressive guitarist of her generation. The future of jazz guitar starts here.”
-Troy Collins, All About Jazz, October 2008
“Here’s a young musician entirely comfortable in her own skin - she’s closer to the true spirit of jazz than many who self-consciously mull over its past glories, but end up fiddling with licks.”
-Philip Clark, Jazz Review, Oct - Nov 2008
“Flurries of notes mix it up with pungent chords not found in any Ted Greene book, played with an aggressive tone and sharp attack- sometimes subtly distorted and bent, sometimes clean and acoustic. Whether playing in her phenomental duo with violist Jessica Pavone, fronting with Mary Halvorson Trio with bassist John Hebert and drummer Ches Smith, avant-barnstorming in legendary saxophonist Anthony Braxton’s trio, or hitting the alternarock scene in her duo People with drummer Kevin Shea, Mary Halvorson orchestrates with her guitar, using counterpoint, textures and lines with nary a cliche to be found.”
-Elliott Sharp, Guitar Player Magazine, December 2007
“Halvorson’s sound is immediately distinctive, viscerally powerful and, yes, intriguingly ‘anti-guitar’”.
-Brian Morton, Jazz Review, Oct - Nov 2008
“…(Halvorson’s) style within the modern creative improvised idiom leaves little doubt as to her immense talent, and resounds in a listener’s head with a sense of both bewilderment and satisfaction… It is not a stretch to tag her as not only a new voice in new music, but also a figure to watch as she develops a further extension of her already innovative approach to original 21st century sounds.”
-Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide, October 2008
“Consistently one of the most fascinating and satisfying guitarists in town.”
-Time Out New York, February 2008
Watch a video of the Mary Halvorson Quintet on Roulette TV, March 2010
Read an article about Mary in the New York Times, November 2008
Read an article about Mary in Time Out New York, November 2008
Read an article about the Mary Halvorson Trio in the New York Times, February 2008