Sylvie Courvoisier-Mary Halvorson Duo

sponsored by Tom Guralnick

Formed in 2017 and debuting with their album, Crop Circles, the idiosyncratic duo of Brooklyn-based Swiss pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and guitarist Mary Halvorson features “a telepathic interplay and ferocious intensity,” which is on full display in their latest critically acclaimed release, Bone Bells (2025).  Their third album, which they recorded after a four-year gap from playing together, and which followed their 2021 release, Searching for the Disappeared Hour, Bone Bells is hailed as an “essential” and “kaleidoscopic” contemporary jazz duo record. “Blending chamber music and post-jazz, the album features intricate, intuitive dialogues that merge virtuosic improvisation with structured, dreamlike compositions.” Critics have called it a masterful, joyful, and highly sophisticated collaboration and called it a magical set of music. The winner of the Swiss Grand Prix and The American Academy of Arts and Letters Music Award in 2025, Sylvie Courvoisier has earned renown for balancing the chamber music of her European roots with the “grooving, hook-laden sounds” of the avant-jazz scene in New York City. She has collaborated with John Zorn, Wadada Leo Smith, Evan Parker, Ikue Mori, Fred Frith, and many others, and, as NPR’s Kevin Whitehead notes, “Some pianists approach the instrument like it’s a cathedral. Sylvie Courvoisier treats it like a playground.” Mary Halvorson’s distinctive sound and innovative approach to her instrument have earned her widespread recognition over the past two decades, including numerous best-of-the-year lists, a 2019 MacArthur Foundation, and Guitarist of the Year honors in the DownBeat Critics Poll for the past nine years. NPR called her “The most future-seeking guitarist working right now,” while the New York Times hailed her as “An unflinching original who has revealed new possibilities within the music.” Halvorson, who last performed at Outpost with the Marc Ribot Quartet at the 2024 New Mexico Jazz Festival, leads her own award-winning bands, and can be heard on more than 75 releases as a co-leader or side woman.” $35/$25 Outpost Members (No Member Passes). $15 Students with current valid ID