Amaryllis & Belladonna

2LP. Brooklyn-based guitarist, composer, and MacArthur fellow Mary Halvorson makes her Nonesuch debut with two albums, Amaryllis and Belladonna. The two suites, which Halvorson describes as “modular and interlocking,” come in a two-LP vinyl set or as two separate CDs and digital albums, produced and mixed by John Dieterich, that Jazziz calls ”some of the most accomplished writing of Halvorson’s meteoric career.” Amaryllis is a six-song suite performed by a newly formed sextet of master improvisers; the Mivos string quartet joins for three of the songs, making this the largest ensemble for which Halvorson has written to date. Belladonna is a set of five compositions written for Halvorson on guitar plus the Mivos Quartet, whose parts are through-composed and augmented by Halvorson’s guitar improvisations.

Amaryllis
A1 Night Shift 5:52
A2 Anesthesia 6:41
A3 Amaryllis 5:55
B1 Side Effect 6:47
B2 Hoodwink 6:47
B3 892 Teeth 5:55

Belladonna
C1 Nodding Yellow 4:32
C2 Moonburn 8:37
C3 Flying Song 5:54
D1 Haunted Head 10:12
D2 Belladonna 7:59