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Gordon Grdina: Pendulum
by Karl Ackermann
The Vancouver, BC, oud player & guitarist Gordon Grdina has become a prolific presence in jazz and world music. The Juno award winner led Gordon Grdina's Nomad Trio (Skirl Records, 2020) with Matt Mitchell and Jim Black. The previous year, he took part in the trio of Matthew Shipp and Mark Helias on Skin and Bones (Not Two Records, 2019) where he also played oboe. His work with saxophonist Ivo Perelman, William Parker, Mats Gustafsson, and Hank Roberts places him ...
read moreGordon Grdina, Milton Man Gogh, & Jungle Debris
by Maurice Hogue
Vancouver guitarist and oud specialist Gordon Grdina decided starting his own label—Attaboygirl—was a necessary direction in which to head; he's released two very different recordings to start: the all solo, Pendulum, and Kloski with his quartet Square Peg which includes Mat Maneri, Christian Lillinger and Shahzad Ismaily. The Australian trio, Milton Man Gogh, is back with their second release, and so are Mary Halvorson and Sylvie Courvoisier (Searching For The Disappeared Hour). The Czech Republic is represented on OMJ for ...
read moreIvo Perelman: The Purity of Desire
by John Sharpe
Tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman prolifically documents his work, his discography growing almost by the week. But he finds new things to say and new ways of saying them, even with his most regular collaborators. Witness the stream of superlative recordings he has made with pianist Matthew Shipp. But, at the same time, the New York-based Brazilian also seeks out new situations; he unveils an intriguing setting for his songlike fragments and searing wails with the oud of Gordon Grdina and ...
read moreIvo Perelman: The Purity of Desire
by Hrayr Attarian
Tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman is an imaginative and intrepid musical explorer. His prolific discography is replete with unique examples of his restless creativity all bearing his inimitable style. On the sensual The Purity of Desire Perelman joins forces with oud player Gordon Grdina and percussionist Hamin Honari. Together they perform a set of eight originals inspired by the works of the 13th century Persian Sufi poet Jalal Ad Din Rumi. The title track unfurls over Honari's complex rustling ...
read moreGordon Grdina Septet: Resist
by Mike Jurkovic
It takes a leap of unconditional faith to enter wholly the resistance. A mindset steadied for the long haul, readied for the next. On his third, integral, must-listen-to release of 2020, Canadian oudist/guitarist/composer Gordon Grdina grandly, darkly, intently, espouses all that and more. Hellbent on creating art as a political act, the sprawling, at times majestic Resist follows the raw and persuasive Nomad (Skirl, 2020), an uncompromising trio outing with pianist Matt Mitchell and drummer Jim Black and the simultaneous ...
read moreGordon Grdina: Singular and Prolific
by Doug Collette
Gordon Grdina continues his singular and prolific career path with not one but two different recordings conducted with two separate musical ensembles. Accurate and vivid reflections of his eclectic mix of what is, in simplest terms, mainstream jazz, free/improv and Arabic music. Nomad Trio and Resist also build upon his background as protégé of jazz great Gary Peacock: Grdina has become a well-respected contributor to both the jazz and world music realms. For a point of comparison, the music on ...
read moreSongs of Tales: Life is a Gong Show
by Hrayr Attarian
The collaborative Canadian quartet Song of Tales brings a unique mix of free improvisation and rock accessibility to its debut Life Is A Gong Show. Members of the ensemble have their individual styles yet they share a similar creative vision. All four are accomplished multiinstrumentalists as well as genre benders who draw from a wide range of influences in their work. All these attributes make this release intriguing. The energetic “Non-Fiction" is an otherworldly tune with folkish overtones. ...
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