"Away With You" Mary Halvorson 8tet CD (w/pedal steel)

Susan Alcorn (deceased) · Post by **Susan Alcorn (deceased)** » 13 Nov 2016 11:25 am

For the very few who might have interest in this (it's not a country or straight ahead jazz) . . .

Mary Halvorson has released a new CD, Away With You with an octet that features the pedal steel guitar (yours truly, for better or worse) pretty heavily in solo, duo and group context. In the three weeks since the CD came out, it's received rave from the NY Times, the Wall Street Journal, Downbeat Magazine, Jazz, All About Jazz, the Quietus. Mary is an incredible guitarist and one of the true geniuses in today's music. The production on the album is beautiful, and the record is, in my opinion, well-worth checking out.

This link contains three pieces from the album, the last one with a 2 1/2 minute pedal steel guitar solo:

http://davidbreskin.com/records/away-with-you/

Here are two videos from a live show in August:

Spirit Splitter (no.54) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMm1J_sHSx8

Fog Bank (no.56) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e84_L7zsak (this one contains an extended psg solo)

Reviews:

NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/29/arts/ ... rview.html

Something Else! Reviews:
http://somethingelsereviews.com/2016/11 ... away-2016/

The album is listed as 17 on Billboard in the "traditional jazz" category, so it's pretty widely available - bandcamp, Amazon, iTunes, Downtown Music Gallery, etc.

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Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 13 Nov 2016 7:27 pm

This is a remarkable recording, and Susan's footprints are all over it. I really marvel at her playing. Really fascinating band and music.

Susan Alcorn (deceased) · Post by **Susan Alcorn (deceased)** » 27 Nov 2016 12:47 pm

Thanks Mike.

Here's an NPR story (audio) about Mary which, toward the end, has some clips from the album.

http://www.npr.org/2016/11/27/503446419 ... -guitarist

Bryan Daste · Post by **Bryan Daste** » 27 Nov 2016 6:58 pm

Nice!

Susan Alcorn (deceased) · Post by **Susan Alcorn (deceased)** » 2 Jan 2017 5:56 pm

I'm really happy that this album has gotten some nice reviews and made some "best of" lists.

"Away With You" was on the top ten list for best albums of 2016 in the New York Times (best album of the year), Chicago Reader (best album of the year), NPR, LA Times, Denver Post, The Atlantic, All About Jazz, GoErie, El País (Spain), and Quietus (UK)

It also received rave reviews in Downbeat, The Wire, Jazz Times, Wall Street Journal, Point of Departure, Avant Music News, Dusted Magazine, PopMatters, Something Else!, Sputnik Music, Jazz daGama, Citizen Jazz (France), and the NYC Jazz Record among others.

This album has a lot of pedal steel guitar on it including two songs that have long (two or three minute) steel solos. I think it's a pleasant album to listen to, but it's not an "easy listening" record. There are no Ray Price shuffles, no gentle swing, and there are no easy comparisons with's traditionally known as jazz (though it's all in there, and the group is composed of jazz musicians). Mary started out on guitar playing Hendrix, etc. but studied, played with, and came up as a professional musician through the music of Anthony Braxton. There is plenty of form, tightly written scores, lots of improvisation, a little funk, and some rock influences as well, but what I really like is that the music breathes. So if you're interested in listening to something different, perhaps challenging, and with the pedal steel guitar in a different context than you're accustomed to hearing, you might enjoy this record.

I don't mean (or like) to toot my own horn; I just want you to know that this music is out there and exists. There, I'm done.

Martin Abend · Post by **Martin Abend** » 10 Jan 2017 3:07 pm

I really love the album and your playing is stellar, as always. I only wish there would have been a vinyl issue as well...