About Ghosts elevates the chemistry between acclaimed jazz guitarist Mary Halvorson and her band, while new elements broaden their fluidity. Halvorson wanted some chaos within their honed improvisation, introducing two versatile saxophonists and Deerhoof's John Dietrich deftly mixes the album's layers.

“I started writing this record in the fall of 2023, for Amaryllis, and I thought, ‘You know what? I want to add more saxophones.’ And I just started writing,” Halvorson says. “It felt like an experiment. I was just feeling ... denser harmony, more horns. But I wanted to stick with Amaryllis, so it felt natural to add a couple of saxophones to Amaryllis rather than doing an entirely new thing; I’d been playing so much at that point with Amaryllis and we were in a really good place.

“I guess I do that a lot. Take something that already feels good and then add an element, kind of throw a wrench in it, and see what happens,” she laughs.

Another instrument that can be heard on a number of tracks, including “Carved From,” is a Pocket Piano synthesizer that Halvorson’s childhood friend Owen Oborn, from Critter & Guitari, recently gave her. “I’ve never played a synthesizer before, but I thought, ‘Wow, if he gave this to me, I should really figure out how to play it.’ I used it on a bunch of tracks, as overdubs. You’ll hear weird non-guitar sounds woven in throughout,” Halvorson says.

“I wasn’t using it to improvise. I was trying to find an additional layer to build into the compositions, the whole time being like, ‘I’ll throw it out if I don’t like it.’ But John Dieterich, who mixed the record, incorporated the synth perfectly. It felt like a subtle layer had settled there, which could almost escape one’s notice. Sort of like the ghost member of the band.”