Three-day Mary Halvorson Jazz Festival at Cornelia Street Café, January 3-5, 2013

8:30pm, Thursday, January 3rd: Mary Halvorson Trio (with John Hébert - bass, Ches Smith - drums)
9pm & 10:30pm, Friday, January 4th: Reverse Blue (with Chris Speed - reeds, Eivind Opsvik - bass, Tomas Fujiwara - drums)
9pm & 10:30pm, Saturday, January 5th: Thumbscrew (with Michael Formanek - bass, Tomas Fujiwara - drums)
At the Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia St, New York, NY
www.corneliastreetcafe.com, 212.989.9319, all sets $10 cover with a $10 minimum

Guitarist/composer Mary Halvorson, described by NPR as “the most future-seeking guitarist working right now”, brings three distinct working ensembles into Cornelia Street Café over three evenings in January. This engagement represents the first time Halvorson will present such a diverse sampling of her ongoing projects in one venue on consecutive nights.

The festival begins on Thursday January 3rd with the Mary Halvorson Trio, featuring John Hébert on bass and Ches Smith on drums. This longstanding group has been Halvorson’s flagship ensemble since their acclaimed 2008 recording Dragon’s Head (Firehouse 12 Records), also serving as the rhythm section for Halvorson’s expanded Quintet (as heard on her latest release, Bending Bridges, one of PopMatters.com “jazz albums of the year” for 2012). On this evening, the trio will be premiering brand new compositions by Halvorson.

On Friday, January 4th the collective quartet Reverse Blue takes the stage, with Chris Speed (clarinet), Eivind Opsvik (bass), and Tomas Fujiwara (drums). The group began as a one-off collaboration in 2011, but has grown into a working ensemble performing compositions by all its members, showcasing four of the leading voices in the Brooklyn new jazz scene.

On Saturday, January 5th the festival closes with the newest of Halvorson’s projects, Thumbscrew. Halvorson and Fujiwara are joined by acclaimed Baltimore-based bassist Michael Formanek in a band that made its debut at Cornelia Street Café in March 2012. While this collective trio features compositions by all three musicians, it has quickly developed a strong band sound fusing jazz, rock and experimental styles.

Mary Halvorson is represented by Other Side Artists Cooperative (OSAC), a new consortium of musicians and organizations pooling their skills, contacts, and resources to take the promotion of their creative endeavors into their own hands. For more information, please visit www.maryhalvorson.com and www.othersideartists.org.