Audiopile Review: Guitarist Mary Halvorson is one of the most vital jazz musicians working today. To an extent, she fits in with the atmospheric vibe of today’s ambient jazz revival. But she’s way too militant to fit any given template or produce anything that settles on being straightforwardly meditative. On her new album, ‘About Ghosts’, this rigorously compositional approach to atmospheric jazz recalls the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Halvorson’s ensemble writing certainly has the good-natured intelligence of that legendary group. But her off-kilter technique quickly establishes the album’s individuality, as does her use of a weird boutique synthesizer. In a way, it’s strange that Halvorson is so massively acclaimed by the jazz establishment, because she has the instincts of an iconoclast. But those cats clearly know the real deal when they hear it. And ‘About Ghosts’ is most certainly the real deal.

Nonesuch Records releases About Ghosts by Brooklyn-based guitarist, composer, and MacArthur fellow Mary Halvorson. The album, produced and mixed by Deerhoof’s John Dieterich, features eight new compositions by Halvorson, performed with her sextet Amaryllis, the improvisatory band that also was featured on her critically praised albums Amaryllis, Belladonna, and Cloudward. Amaryllis comprises Halvorson, Patricia Brennan (vibraphone), Nick Dunston (bass), Tomas Fujiwara (drums), Jacob Garchik (trombone), and Adam O’Farrill (trumpet). Saxophonists Immanuel Wilkins and Brian Settles join the ensemble on five tunes, including “Carved From,” which is available today. Halvorson’s last three records were named Jazz Album of the Year in DownBeat’s annual Critics Poll, where she was also named Guitarist of the Year in 2023 and 2024. Halvorson and Amaryllis will tour the US in September, with shows in Chicago, Lexington, Bloomington, Cambridge, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, and more; see below for details.