Amaryllis
Released
Amaryllis is one of two companion albums released simultaneously in 2022 by guitar luminary Mary Halvorson. This album is the extroverted one, with a rambunctious jazz sextet improvising its way through claustrophobic, nocturnal soundscapes. The results are relentlessly thrilling. The title track is a standout: the bass-guitar groove manages to be both angular and driving, and the contributions from trumpeter Jacob Garchik and trombonist Adam O’Farrill are incandescent. The Mivos string quartet, which plays a more significant role on the companion album Belladonna, widens the harmonic and textural palette for the last three tracks of the suite.