Jazz Articles about Gordon Hyland

About Gordon Hyland

Album Review

Gordon Hyland: NEVER DIE! by \\livingfossil//

$Read "NEVER DIE! by \\livingfossil//" reviewed by Friedrich Kunzmann$

by Friedrich Kunzmann
February 22, 2018

\\livingfossil// is the most recent brainchild of Canadian saxophonist Gordon Hyland. The Toronto-based musician and composer continues to release his versatile compositions in a multitude of formations of various different names, such as the acoustic saxophone trio Simple Shapes or the progressive-electronic project Ninja Funk Orchestra. Members of the latter are reunited with Hyland on his newest endeavor \\livingfossil//, making for an intriguing instrumentation of two saxophones, two electric guitars, drums and an electric as well as acoustic bass. The ...

Album Review

Gordon Hyland: NEVER DIE! by \\livingfossil//

$Read "NEVER DIE! by \\livingfossil//" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan$

by Dan McClenaghan
February 4, 2018

The debut disc Never Die, by the Toronto-based collective, \\living fossil//, opens with a reverberant industrial hum, a droning metallic guitar sound that announces a distinctive and compelling group aesthetic. Saxophonist Gordon Hyland is the ringleader, though that isn't not apparent from listening. He and his cohorts have created a distinctive approach of echoing saxophone--sometimes two saxophones, with tenor man Mike Murley joining in on three tunes--and wall-of-sound guitar approach that makes for a satisfyingly cohesive listening experience.