Avant jazz trio Thumbscrew comprise veteran bassist Michael Formanek, guitarist Mary Halvorson, and drummer Tomas Fujiwara. An ECM recording artist and member of the Peabody Conservatory jazz faculty, Formanek has a career stretching back to the 1980s, debuting as a leader in 1990, while Halvorson and Fujiwara have both emerged as significant contributors to the 21st century Brooklyn creative improvised music scene, with Halvorson in particular developing an extensive discography as a leader. The three played together for the first time in 2011 when Formanek sat in with the Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet, which included both Halvorson and Fujiwara as members, and they discovered an immediate rapport. Agreeing to form Thumbscrew as a trio of equal collaborators, they toured extensively and recorded several albums that were released by the Cuneiform label beginning in January 2014. ~ Dave Lynch