December 2008

Mary Halvorson Trio
Dragon’s Head
Firehouse 12 Records

By Bill Milkowski

Guitarist Mary Halvorson strides boldly into avant-garde territory on her powerhouse debut. Her slashing attack, angular arpeggios and fractured single-note improvisations come from the Fred Frith-Joe Morris-Derek Bailey school while her occasional distortion-laced skronking suggests Sonny Sharrock, Marc Ribot and Nels Cline. Halvorson’s compositional style, which relies on repetition of jagged, dissonant motifs, marries an exacting chamberlike aesthetic and raucous free-form interplay with great bassist John Hebert and dynamic drummer Ches Smith.