Mary Halvorson and Jessica Pavone are a Brooklyn-based collaborative duo that have been working together for over four years composing and performing a unique body of music, drawing from classical, jazz and folk traditions while experimenting with new forms. Their music explores improvisation and composition while utilizing amplification and electronic effects as well as acoustic presentation. The compositions in their current repertoire generally range in length from two to six minutes, with each of them composing separate pieces for the project.
Prairies, their debut album, was released in November of 2005 on the Lucky Kitchen label in Spain. Their second album, On and Off, was released on Skirl Records (www.skirlrecords.com) in August 2007. They have been performing regularly in New York City since 2002, at venues such as Roulette, Tonic, Barbes and the Stone. Additionally, they have appeared at several music festivals, including the Wels Unlimited Festival in Austria; The Other Half - a festival featuring emerging female improvisers in New York; the Improvised and Otherwise Festival in Brooklyn; and The Vision Festival. Since 2006 they have toured bi-annually throughout the East Coast, West Coast and Southern United States. They have recently received press in publications such as the New York Times, Time Out New York, Time Out Chicago, Signal to Noise, The Wire, and All About Jazz.
"Songs of Synastry and Solitude" is a collection of pieces for string
quartet that substitutes double bass for the traditional second
violin. The music is influenced by an interest in the simplistic
beauty of folk songs, the ghosts of all things lost, and Leonard
Cohen's permission to live outside this world.
"The Pavones" is the result of a life long of musical influences. An avid fan of new music and improvisation who grew up a kid of the 80's 90's, Pavone is searching to find a way to merge influences of the different sounds she has ever loved through her own voice as a composer. From the first study of Beethoven's Violin Romance in F, to the highly influential adoption of her father's old vynyl collection as a young teenager; growing up with the Four Seasons and Murry the K compilations as well as "formal" study of classical viola and composition. She now learns and grows from being a working musician amongst others a vast city of creativity, and other influential interests include folk rock, free improvisation, William Primrose, Jeffry Hyman, soul, the hopes of returning as Florence Ballard in the next life, visual arts and the grace of the human body.
THE PAVONES:
Jessica Pavone - tunes,electric bass, viola, violin
Peter Evans - trumpet
Matt Bauder - tenor saxophone and bass clarinet
Michael Attias - alto and bari saxophone
Brandon Seabrook - guitar
Harris Eisenstadt - drums
Since April of 2005 Jessica has had the honor of touring Europe and North America with Anthony Braxton's Sextet and Twelve+1tet interpreting
Braxton's Ghost Trance Music.
Anthony Braxton - composition, reeds
Taylor Ho Bynum - brass
Chris Dahlgren/Carl Testa - bass
Jessica Pavone - viola and violin
Aaron Siegel - percussion
THE THIRTEENTH ASSEMBLY
The Thirteenth Assembly is a touring collective made up of four musicians and four different and musically distinct
small ensembles. Styled somewhere between the classic r&b/soul revues of the 60's and a post-modern traveling circus, the
Thirteenth Assembly presents a selection of some of the fastest-emerging young artists and bands in New York's creative
music scene in one package. Over the course of an evening, each group performs a short thirty-minute set, offering a
glimpse of the vibrant and varied stylistic diversity and creativity of this particular musical community. More information
is available here.
The Thirteenth Assembly
Mary Halvorson - guitar
Jessica Pavone - viola
Taylor Ho Bynum - cornet
Tomas Fujiwara -drums
photo: Hilary McHone
QUOTIDIAN This Work was funded in part by the Composer Assistance Program of the American Music Center.
Performed by Till By Turning
Quotidian is a suite for violin, viola, cello, bassoon, and piano.
Composed in four movements: Hypnopompic, Post Meridiem, Weight of Dusk, and The Darkest Hour, it examines four temporal landmarks that occur within each single day.
Quotidian stems from a belief that the shifting balance between light and dark, as well as other environmental changes constantly affect us regardless of how conscious or aware we are of them. Our external environment has a direct effect on our moods and feelings and therefore, in a sense, has ultimate control overall living beings.
Erica Dicker - violin
Amy Cimini - viola
Loren Dempster - cello
Katherine Young - bassoon
Emily Manzo - piano
Brooklyn based improvisers Imaginary Folk, draw from a wide variety of influences with the group's members collectively having backgrounds in
klezmer, chamber music, jazz, and composition. Their sounds range from fiery improvisations to complex textures and perverse extended
instrumental techniques. They blending Lo-fi electronic tape loops and nostalgic field recordings with their acoustic improvisations.
