Mary Halvorson, Michael Formanek, Tomas Fujiwara - Thumbscrew (2014)

THUMBSCREW is the first release by this new co-op trio made up of older and younger equals on the modern jazz scene. All three are composer/bandleaders in their own right and all contribute compositions to the band, making Thumbscrew even greater than the sum of its parts.

Guitarist Mary Halvorson is one of the most recognizable players on her instrument to emerge in the last decade. In a relatively short time, she has released a voluminous discography as a leader and sideman, and established herself as an important voice in jazz today. 'Halvorson's precise, hardscrabble guitar playing is just plain bad-ass.' DownBeat.

Bassist Michael Formanek has been an important, grounding force on the scene for over 30 years. He has played and/or recorded with Tony Williams, Elvis Costello, Freddie Hubbard, Stan Getz, Tim Berne, Dave Liebman and many others. He has recently released two widely praised albums as composer/ bandleader on the ECM label: 'The Rub and Spare Change' (2010) and 'Small Places' (2012). Both albums received five star (the highest possible) reviews in Downbeat.

Drummer Tomas Fujiwara grew up in Boston, studying with the legendary Alan Dawson for eight years before moving to New York at the age of 17, where he has become an important and ubiquitous presence on the current generation of the jazz scene, playing with some of the most important voices of today's music.

Recorded live in the studio, this is the band's first release, but they have been working towards this release for two years and the band already has its third North American tour set up for March, 2014.

Thumbscrew:
Mary Halvorson - guitar
Michael Formanek - double bass
Tomas Fujiwara - drums