The MacArthur Genius: Musician Mary Halvorson

Episode Summary

Experimental musician Mary Halvorson shares her story of how a practical person made the impractical leap to pursue a music career when she met a truly inspiring teacher in college. Mary discusses creating music that is out of the mainstream, finding acceptance by going her own way, and how receiving the prestigious MacArthur Grant has impacted her life. Syd and Mary talk leadership, women in music, quarantine, and more, in this episode of The Sydcast.

Syd Finkelstein

Syd Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He holds a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Professor Finkelstein has published 25 books and 90 articles, including the bestsellers Why Smart Executives Fail and Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent, which LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman calls the “leadership guide for the Networked Age.” He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Management, a consultant and speaker to leading companies around the world, and a top 25 on the global Thinkers 50 list of top management gurus. Professor Finkelstein’s research and consulting work often relies on in-depth and personal interviews with hundreds of people, an experience that led him to create and host his own podcast, The Sydcast, to uncover and share the stories of all sorts of fascinating people in business, sports, entertainment, politics, academia, and everyday life. 

Mary Halvorson

Guitarist and composer Mary Halvorson has been described as “a singular talent” (Lloyd Sachs, JazzTimes), ”NYC’s least-predictable improviser” (Howard Mandel, City Arts), “one of the most exciting and original guitarists in jazz—or otherwise” (Steve Dollar, Wall Street Journal), and “one of today’s most formidable bandleaders” (Francis Davis, Village Voice). In recent Downbeat Critics Polls, Halvorson has been celebrated as a guitarist, rising star jazz artist, and rising star composer of the year, and in 2019 she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.

Halvorson has released a series of critically acclaimed albums on the Firehouse 12 label, from Dragon’s Head (2008), her trio debut featuring bassist John Hébert and drummer Ches Smith, expanding to a quintet with trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson and alto saxophonist Jon Irabagon on Saturn Sings (2010) and Bending Bridges (2012), a septet with tenor saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and trombonist Jacob Garchik on Illusionary Sea (2014), and finally an octet with pedal steel guitarist Susan Alcorn on Away With You (2016). She also released the solo recording Meltframe (2015) and most recently debuted Code Girl (2018), a new ensemble featuring vocalist Amirtha Kidambi (singing Halvorson’s own lyrics), trumpeter Adam O’Farrill, saxophonist/ vocalist Maria Grand, bassist Michael Formanek, and drummer Tomas Fujiwara. 

One of New York City’s most in-demand guitarists, over the past decade Halvorson has worked with such diverse musicians as Tim Berne, Anthony Braxton, Taylor Ho Bynum, John Dieterich, Trevor Dunn, Bill Frisell, Ingrid Laubrock, Jason Moran, Joe Morris, Tom Rainey, Jessica Pavone, Tomeka Reid, Marc Ribot, and John Zorn. She is also part of several collaborative projects, most notably the longstanding trio Thumbscrew with Michael Formanek on bass and Tomas Fujiwara on drums.

Insights from this episode:

• The benefits of studying musical traditions to build your own strong musical foundation.
• Reasons why you should play different types and styles of music to enhance and further your career.
• Differences between listening to music through a streaming service versus on a CD or vinyl album and the impact of listening to only one song versus an entire album.
• How to find a balance between instinct and editing when creating music.
• Benefits of performing music live that can not be achieved through streaming concerts. 
• How to be a good bandleader and how to deal with the pressure that comes with being a leader in any situation.

Quotes from the show:

• “I realized music was much more than I had initially thought, it was much bigger. There were so many more possibilities.” – Mary Halvorson
• “I think there’s a misconception that people who play experimental music only like experimental music or can’t play other types of music and vice versa. I’ve found that that’s often not the case.” – Mary Halvorson
• “I think of an academic career as an entrepreneurial career where you can always try something new if you want to try something new.” – Syd Finkelstein
• “We know, in so many walks of life, narrative flow and storytelling is everything.” – Syd Finkelstein
• “I’ve always found it un-intuitive to have music and then put lyrics in later.” – Mary Halvorson
• “I’m just writing music that I find exciting or that I think is beautiful or that I like and I think that tends to be a little bit left of center.” – Mary Halvorson
• “I’m very lucky to do music that I believe in.” – Mary Halvorson
• “What I’ve realized during this [quarantine] period is there’s no substitute for live music. Doing live-stream performances is not a substitute for live music.” – Mary Halvorson
• On what advice Mary would give to her younger self: “Take your time with things and make sure to do things thoroughly … get really deep into something.” – Mary Halvorson
• “I think focusing on the process and not the end result is also a good thing to think about.” – Mary Halvorson

Stay Connected:

Syd Finkelstein

Website: http://thesydcast.com

LinkedIn: Sydney Finkelstein

Twitter: @sydfinkelstein

Facebook: The Sydcast

Instagram: The Sydcast

Mary Halvorson

Website: www.maryhalvorson.com

Spotify: Mary Halvorson

YouTube Music: Mary Halvorson

Facebook: Mary Halvorson

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Stitcher, iTunes, and Spotify.

This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)