How Mary Halvorson explores creative expression and free improvisation through performance, composition, and arranging

Mock, Paul

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/113726 Copy

Description

Title

How Mary Halvorson explores creative expression and free improvisation through performance, composition, and arranging

Author(s)

Mock, Paul

Issue Date

2022

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Sweet, Bridget

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Gray, Lawrence

Committee Member(s)

• Carrillo, Tito
• Magee, Gayle Sherwood

Department of Study

School of Music

Discipline

Music

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

A.Mus.D. (doctoral)

Keyword(s)

• Mary Halvorson
• Anthony Braxton
• Joe Morris
• jazz
• guitar
• avant-garde
• free improvisation

Language

en

Abstract

Guitarist and composer Mary Halvorson has recently made a name for herself as a bastion of musical innovation within the scope of free improvised music through her highly eclectic and progressive musical output. This output has not only given Halvorson her reputation as a forward-thinking musician, but has also earned her a Genius Grant in music from the MacArthur Fellows Program. Halvorson studied under pivotal figures of avant-garde jazz, saxophonist and composer Anthony Braxton and guitarist Joe Morris. Through their tutelage, Halvorson was able to codify her musical philosophy which has provided the integral foundation of her playing and compositional styles. She has stated in interviews that she believes composition and improvisation are intertwined. She has said that many of the melodies she composes are derived from her own improvised guitar solos. One of the defining features of avant-garde jazz is free improvisation: musical improvisation unencumbered by time signature, Western tonal harmony, or song forms. Although the act of composition is seemingly antithetical to the avant-garde idea of improvisation free of structure, Halvorson is able to maintain the abstract aesthetic of avant-garde jazz and free improvised music while also expanding far beyond through her meticulous compositions and guitar playing.This thesis will analyze transcriptions of six of Halvorson’s works throughout her discography showing how her composition and playing style change in trio, solo, and quintet settings while being compared to the musical philosophies of Halvorson’s mentors Anthony Braxton and Joe Morris. This thesis will also briefly explore Halvorson’s own relation to the “avant-garde jazz” label.

Type of Resource

• text
• still image

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/113726

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2022 Paul Mock

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