TONE Festival / Mary Halvorson's Code Girl, Bernice

MARY HALVORSON‘S CODE GIRL

NYC guitarist & composer brings her Code Girl ensemble to Toronto for the first time! A experiment in songwriting & lyricism the band melds avant jazz and rock forms with folk influences and improvisation in the service of Halvorson’s deftly crafted pieces. The band of NYC heavy weights features Amirtha Kidambi (vocals), Adam O’Farrill (trumpet),  Brian Settles (tenor saxophone), Michael Formanek (bass), Tomas Fujiwara (drums) and of course Mary Halvorson herself on guitar. The trademark waver of Halvorson’s guitar drifts through the music effortlessly wrapping itself around Kidambi’s exactingly aerobatic yet soft vocals. Horns meandering climbing up and down, over & around stretched guitar notes and rolling drums. The music builds like some comraderous journey. Never afraid to drop into heavy face rip territory Halvorson, Fujiwara & Formanek kick it with glistening distortion rollicking percussive blasts before subduing things as elegant vocal lines drift through skittering notes. An seamlessly adaptable band that dances from mood to mood with artful cohesion. One of modern music’s essential bands. Don’t sleep on this rare appearance!

BERNICE

Robin Dann & her who’s who crew of Toronto avant song slingers (Thom Gill, Dan Fortin, Felicity Williams, and Phil Melanson) pump out soulful compositions that are full of blooming vocal flourishes, airy guitar whispers and bubbling beats. Sounding like the release of some lost spirits rejoicing as they flee into the ether, Bernice creates a unique atmosphere. Vocals swell and fall, as spectral guitar notes drip from the sky. Electronic drum textures pop & gurgle like a stewing bog, fermenting. Get into this beautiful ghost music.

This event is co-presented with the Music Gallery’s Departures Series

TONE would not be possible without the support of The Toronto Arts Council, and The Canada Council For The Arts.