Gordon Grdina: Oddly Enough: The Music Of Tim Berne

Saxophonist Tim Berne farms out some of his music—oddly, since, considering his work with his groups Blood Count, Big Satan and Snakeoil, etc., his original compositions could be considered some of the least coverable sounds out there. The typical Tim Berne album growls and howls, careens around ninety degree turns, caterwauls and fires sonic laser beams that could cut through granite, all within the relatively narrow confines of a sharply focused vision—like a free-swinging brawl confined to a narrow alley.

Then there are his farm-outs—pianist Matt Mitchell's solo piano outing, Forage (Screwgun Records, 2017), a dark, nuanced, sedate, and at times prickly and consistently beautiful recital that, on a blind listen, probably wouldn't be identified as a set of Berne tunes.

Next up in the farm-out list, guitarist Gordon Grdina's Oddly Enough, where he interprets the music of Tim Berne, with his acoustic guitar, classical guitar, electric/Midi guitar, oud and dobro. The record is another Covid disc, recorded by Grdina over the course of a year, with Berne sending the guitarist a tune, which Grdina would record and send back. The process repeated itself, one composition at a time, until Oddly Enough came into being.

Oddly Enough is more recognizably Berne-ian than the previously mentioned Forage. It is harmonically complex and free, foreboding and mysterious. The use of the Midi guitar brings enhanced texturing, like a grunge band echoing off the cement floor in a spacious garage. Grdina approaches Berne's near chaotic sound with a combination of fractured stateliness, interludes of aggression, moments of classical music reflection and Americana moods, proving, once again, that Tim Berne picks his farm-out projects well.

Oddly Enough: The Music Of Time Berne shines fresh light on another facet of the dark diamond of Berne's unwavering vision.