Ars Nova Workshop presents the return of innovative guitarist Mary Halvorson and her thrilling sextet Amaryllis at Solar Myth on Saturday, September 20, 2025.

Guitarist and composer Mary Halvorson has been described by Peter Margasak at Bandcamp Daily as “one of the most original jazz guitarists of our time.” Over the past two decades she has worked with such diverse musicians as Tim Berne, Anthony Braxton, Taylor Ho Bynum, John Dieterich, Trevor Dunn, Bill Frisell, Ingrid Laubrock, Myra Melford, Jason Moran, Joe Morris, Tom Rainey, Jessica Pavone, Tomeka Reid, Marc Ribot, Ches Smith 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.

Halvorson has recorded four critically acclaimed albums with her boundless Amaryllis sextet; the most recent, About Ghosts, supplements the band with saxophonists Immanuel Wilkins and Brian Settles. Its predecessor, Cloudward, was described in a 5-star review by The Guardian as, “a shimmering, deeply satisfying example of a jazz sextet firing on all cylinders.” Halvorson’s last three records were named Jazz Album of the Year in DownBeat’s annual Critics Poll, where she was also named Guitarist of the Year in 2023 and 2024.