Gordon Grdina: Boiling Point

For all its unstinting muscularity, feverish virtuosity and concentrated interplay, Canadian guitarist/oudist Gordon Grdina's first of two simultaneous summer releases, Boiling Point, could easily have been entitled Shock and Awe or Scorched Earth or perhaps even Ground Zero. Because as densely and wirily structured as these six Grdina comps are, Lower East Side piano legend Matt Mitchell and equally lauded drummer Jim Black bash away to the heart of matter, clearing the way for Grdina to crunch, skronk, and ruminate on his instrument of choice.

As they did so forcibly on their widely realized, 2020 self-titled debut recording on Skirl Records, the trio forges headfirst into any and all of challenging moments Grdina dares to present. The title opener blows the doors off instantly and without apology as Grdina solos hard, knotty and gnarly, part hard rock god, part diffuse jazz impresario, while Mitchell and Black dogfight and pound, changing tempo and mood, just like they have behind alto saxophonist Tim Berne and his many and mighty unique iterations of jazz's freer regions.

"Parksville" follows that initial explosion with a few funky, amped bombing runs of its own. Grdina introduces the piece, but it quickly becomes a vehicle for Black to bend the tune to his own purposes and for Mitchell to fill in what few quiet spaces there may be. "Shibyu" wanders quietly for most of its ten minutes, the trio deciding to rally around Grdina's looping melody before Mitchell moves the tune into a anthemic motif to close it out. An ambient, free roaming conversation takes place on "Cali-lacs" as Grdina's oud makes its first languid appearance. Making sense of chaos is the over-arching theme of Boiling Point's last two tracks, "Koen Dori," where Grdina switches back and forth between his chosen instruments and Black and Mitchell take it in stride; and the rock powered gut punch closer, "All Caps," like so much of Grdina's work no matter the size of the band or the music that inspires it, Boiling Point never disappoints.