Bone Bells
Pyroclastic, 2025
9/10
This 3rd effort between the pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and guitarist Mary Halvorson brings both improvisational and compositional ideas to the 8 daring tracks, where rhythm and color are present in spades.
The title track opens with the soft keys alongside spirited guitar in a warm setting that can get firm, too, and “Esmeralda” follows with both gentle and energetic piano amid the radiant, dreamy guitar tone.
Landing in the middle, “Nags Head Valse” offers an animated and unpredictable mashing of playfulness from Courvoisier, while “Beclouded” carries a mesmerizing mood via the key progressions and meticulous guitar lines.
Arriving close to the end, “Float Queens” flows with a distinct richness of atypical melodies for the album’s best, and “Cristellina e Lontano” exits with a cinematic flavor of exploration and wonder, thanks to the strategic piano and rhythmic guitar.
Both Courvoisier and Halvorson are leaders in modern creative music, and their combined strength make for avant-garde chamber and jazz sounds that defy convention in emotive and exciting ways.
Travels well with: Sylvie Courvoisier/Wadada Leo Smith- Angel Falls; Patricia Brennan Septet- Breaking Stretch