Guitarist Halvorson has been wowing the Firehouse crowds for decades. In support of other jazzbos or leading her groups Amaryllis or Thumbscrew, Mary is a restless spirit. Her popularity is also blooming as evidenced by two sold out sets. I was lucky to plan ahead and grab an advance ticket for the second set. This project has Mary on guitar, Henry Fraser on standup bass, Dave Adewumi on trumpet, and longtime collaborator, friend, and drummer Tomas Fujiwara. The quartet breezes through their set. Still nerdy and bookish, Mary plays her large hollow body guitar while seated, which makes it hard to see her. Adewumi is new to me and is solid on trumpet. Confident blasts and runs are a good counterpoint to the guitar noodling. Fraser is amazing. Usually plucking, but occasional bowing, Henry is worth following. When soloing, Henry alternated softly plucked passages with loud stabbing runs, as if there were two people playing. Tomas has been positively reviewed in this blog many times. Master time keeper, Fujiwara spent the evening focused on cymbals. His cymbal-centric solo was beautiful. Halvorson is a chameleon on guitar, she even slurred her way through a Hawaiian slack-key passage. The international accolades keep piling up for Mary, I’m happy to say that I have been a fan from the jump.
