Acclaimed guitarist Mary Halvorson is set to perform in Northern California with her latest project, the quartet Canis Major, on April 2nd at Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz and April 3rd at The Freight in Berkeley.

A Return to Smaller Ensembles

Halvorson’s ascent as a leading figure in jazz guitar over the past two decades has been widely recognized. After years dedicated to larger, composition-driven ensembles, she expressed her enthusiasm for a more intimate setting. “It’s nice to go small again,” she said in a recent interview from Spain. “It’s still quite composed, but by nature a smaller group feels more improvisatory. There’s more openness to the music.”

An Omnivorous Aesthetic

Halvorson is known for her eclectic approach to jazz, drawing from a wide range of practices without adhering to any single school. While proficient in free improvisation – as demonstrated in her work with the collective trio The Out Louds and Berkeley clarinetist Ben Goldberg – she has recently focused on intricately composed pieces, such as her 2018 song project “Code Girl.”

Distinctive Musical Style

The Brooklyn-based guitarist’s playing is characterized by its unique sound, featuring skittery, off-kilter lines and notes that seem to lose tension as they are played. This distinctive approach has earned her consistent recognition in critics’ polls and a 2019 MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship.

Canis Major: A New Chapter

Halvorson’s previous releases – the string quartet project “Belladona” and jazz sextet albums “Amaryllis” and “Cloudward” – each received “album of the year” honors from DownBeat magazine. Canis Major, however, represents a new creative direction, inspiring her to compose a substantial body of new music.

Building the Band

The quartet is built upon Halvorson’s long-standing musical partnership with drummer Tomas Fujiwara, with whom she has collaborated for two decades. They share creative direction in several ensembles, including the trio Thumbscrew with bassist Michael Formanek. “I like to have someone I feel very comfortable with and gets what I’m going for,” Halvorson explained. “Tomas writes really great parts for himself with very little instruction.”

Halvorson also recruited bassist Henry Fraser and trumpeter Dave Adewumi to complete the quartet. She had limited prior bandstand experience with Fraser, but recognized his versatility. “He’s able to go between things with more open rhythms,” she said. Adewumi, whom she had admired from afar, proved to be a perfect fit after a single performance.

Adewumi's Perspective

Trumpeter Dave Adewumi, who recently released his debut album “Flame Beneath the Silence,” expressed his excitement about working with Halvorson. “Working with Mary has been such a joy and treat…one of the most amazing musical experiences I’ve ever had,” he said. He praised her ability to craft compositions that tell a unique story, offering both freshness and warmth.

Halvorson aims to explore “maximum colors and textures” with Canis Major, experimenting with orchestration and unconventional roles for instruments. “I’m trying to think about it orchestrationally, things where bass is in a more melodic role,” she said. “I’m all over the map.”