The avant-garde Mary Halvorson

Mallorca Jazz Sa Pobla is a festival noted for the variety of styles of the artists.

In guitarist Mary Halvorson, describing her style isn’t straightforward. She’s dubbed as being avant-garde, which maybe arises because her jazz is mixed with different influences. She has said: “The cool thing about the guitar is that it’s not associated as much with a particular genre ... it could be classical, it could be rock and roll, it could be jazz, it could be folk.”

Avant-garde can be interpreted in different ways. It may sound off-putting in that the music isn’t too accessible. Well that isn’t the case with Mary Halvorson. She’s avant-garde in the sense of leading edge. “The most future-seeking guitarist working right now” as one review has put it.

There is a lightness and smoothness of touch to her playing, as part of her Amaryllis Sextet, as well as a broadness to her approach, which she attributes to having worked with saxophonist Anthony Braxton, himself known for being an improviser and music experimentalist.