American critics called her "New York's least predicable improviser" and "one of the most formidable bandleaders of the moment". Since 2002 Mary Halvorson has built up a solid reputation as a progressive guitarist in her home, New York. She doesn't like to stay within the boundaries of a genre. Halvorson plays in several ensembles, she plays chamber music with a violinist, and is also a member of a progressive rock band. Her talent for improvising makes her performances exciting experiences in which neither the audience nor the musicians themselves know where the evening will take them. Although Halvorson used to play with her own trio in the past, she has now permanently expanded this into a quintet, so that her guitar playing is accompanied by a rhythm section, saxophone and trumpet. Her performance at the North Sea Jazz Festival marks the European debut of this lineup with whom she recorded the album Saturn Sings that was released last year.
