Born in 1980 in Brookline, Massachusetts, Mary Halvorson is a Brooklyn-based guitarist and composer who has earned widespread recognition as one of the most original and influential guitarists of her generation, winning DownBeat Critics Poll Guitarist of the Year for nine consecutive years and receiving a 2019 MacArthur Fellowship. Beginning her musical education on violin, she switched to guitar at age 11 after discovering Jimi Hendrix, initially wanting to be a rock musician before her first teacher, a jazz buff, steered her toward jazz. She attended Wesleyan University initially for biology but switched her focus to music after sitting in on a class taught by Anthony Braxton, who became a pivotal mentor alongside avant-garde guitarist Joe Morris, both encouraging her to pursue her own voice and experiment freely. Halvorson describes the guitar as a "neutral vessel" not associated with any particular genre, and her music incorporates elements of jazz, flamenco, rock, noise, and psychedelia in a fiercely individual style.
After studying at Wesleyan and The New School, Halvorson moved to New York City in 2002 and quickly became one of the city's most in-demand guitarists, appearing on more than 75 releases as co-leader or sidewoman. Her debut album Dragon's Head appeared in 2008 on Firehouse 12 Records, a trio featuring bassist John Hébert and drummer Ches Smith, which critics called "the most original jazz guitarist to emerge this decade". She expanded to a quintet with trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson and alto saxophonist Jon Irabagon on Saturn Sings (2010) and Bending Bridges (2012), a septet with tenor saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and trombonist Jacob Garchik on Illusionary Sea (2014), and an octet with pedal steel guitarist Susan Alcorn on Away With You (2016). Her 2015 solo album Meltframe was called "category-exploding" by NPR and placed 7th in the Jazz Critics Poll. In 2013 she formed the trio Thumbscrew with bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Tomas Fujiwara, recording several critically acclaimed albums. Code Girl (2018) marked her first attempt at writing lyrics for her original works, sung by Amirtha Kidambi and inspired by Robert Wyatt and Elliott Smith.
Halvorson signed to Nonesuch Records in 2022, releasing the twin albums Amaryllis and Belladonna, which feature her string quartet writing interpreted by The Mivos Quartet alongside her Amaryllis sextet with Adam O'Farrill, Jacob Garchik, Patricia Brennan, Nick Dunston, and Tomas Fujiwara. The Guardian gave them five stars, calling them "new landmarks in Halvorson's already inimitable discography", and they were named Jazz Album of the Year in the 2022 DownBeat Critics Poll. Cloudward appeared in 2024 featuring her Amaryllis sextet plus guest Laurie Anderson on violin, followed by About Ghosts in 2025, which NPR Music, Slate, and the Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll named best new jazz album of the year. Halvorson teaches at The New School's School of Jazz and has worked with diverse musicians including Tim Berne, Anthony Braxton, Bill Frisell, Taylor Ho Bynum, Ingrid Laubrock, and Myra Melford.
