release date: 18.02.2022 via Attaboygirl Records
The prolific Vancouver-based guitarist, composer, improviser and master oud player Gordon Grdina releases two extraordinary new albums February 18, 2022 on his Attaboygirl Records label. Each finds Grdina collaborating with one of modern jazz’s most innovative and creative minds. The second, Oddly Enough debuts a new collection of pieces written by saxophonist/composer Tim Berne and performed by Grdina on solo acoustic and electric guitar with Midi sampler instruments. Near the beginning of the pandemic Berne casually sent Grdina a new piece and Grdina responded with a recording of that piece. The back and froth continued for almost a year. To expand the sonic palette for these pieces, Grdina designed a new guitar able to simultaneously record Midi data, acoustic and electric.
Gordon Grdina
Gordon Grdina is a JUNO Award-winning oud/guitarist whose career has spanned continents, decades and constant genre exploration throughout avant-garde jazz, free form improvisation, contemporary indie rock and Arabic. His singular approach to the instruments has earned him recognition from the highest ranks of the jazz/improv world. Grdina has performed and collaborated with a wide array of field-leading artists including Gary Peacock, Paul Motion, Marc Ribot, Mark Helias, Mats Gustafsson, Hank Roberts, Mark Feldman, Eyvind Kang, Colin Stetson, Mat Maneri, Christian Lilinger, Matt Mitchell and Jim Black.
He currently leads multiple ensembles in Vancouver and New York, including the Gordon Grdina Quartet with Oscar Noriega, Russ Lossing, and Satoshi Takeishi; The Marrow with Hank Roberts, Mark Helias, Hamin Honari, and Josh Zubot; Square Peg with Christian Lillinger, Mat Maneri, and Shahzad Ismaily; Nomad Trio with Matt Mitchell and Jim Black; The Gordon Grdina Septet with Peggy Lee, Jesse Zubot, Kenton Loewen, Tommy Babin, Eyvind Kang and Jon Irabagon; and Haram, an Arabic/avant-garde ensemble that re-envisions the Arabic, Persian and Sudanese repertoire of the 50’s and 60’s from a modern improviser’s lens.
Gordon Grdina – Oddly Enough
Attaboygirl Records – ABG-4 – Recorded April 29-30, 2021
Release date February 18, 2022
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