Articles
2010 Artist Picks
Francesco Tristano
Albums
36
Access To Arasaka
Aeroplane Trio
Christian Albrechsten
Gilles Aubry
Andreas Bick
Wil Bolton
Caroline
Chaim
Scott Cortez
Dead Voices On Air
Margaret Dygas
F. Gerard Errante
Seren Ffordd
Field Rotation
Marcus Fischer
The Ghost of 29 Megacycles
Tania Gill
Gord Grdina Trio
Herion
Hummingbird
Ironomi
Yoshio Machida
Machinefabriek / Liondialer
Phil Manley
Matta
Mem1
me:mo
Miko
Momus
Moshimoss
Roger O'Donnell
orchestramaxfieldparrish
Cédric Peyronnet
Resoe
Danny Saul
Dirk Serries
Shedding
Clive Tanaka y su orquesta
Robert Scott Thompson
Two People In A Room
Undermathic
Wires Under Tension
Clive Wright
Compilations
Joachim Spieth Selected 6
Playing with Words
Reconstruction of Fives
20 Centuries Stony Sleep
EPs
Balmorhea
Clara Moto
d_rradio
Deepgroove
Kyle Bobby Dunn
Fear Falls Burning
Hammock
ptr1
Quiroga
Sawako
Gord Grdina Trio w/ Mats Gustafsson: Barrel Fire
Drip Audio
This live recording reveals that it took no more than ten seconds for the furious onslaught of collective sound conjured by The Gord Grdina Trio and Mats Gustafsson to be unleashed upon the audience during the musicians' first set at the 2009 Vancouver International Jazz Festival. Barrel Fire is an especially high-energy release from guitarist Grdina, whose Vancouver-based trio is rounded out by drummer Kenton Loewen and bassist Tommy Babin, and the intensity of the group's attack on that date was surely spurred on by the titanic charge of Gustafsson's saxophone playing. His reputation precedes him, of course (he's toured with Peter Brötzmann, Sonic Youth, Merzbow, among others, and is a member of the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet), so we already know how ferocious a player he can be, while Grdina, all scrabbled electric fire and scintillating runs, proves himself to be an able sparring partner.
Opener “F.W.R.” is a take-no-prisoners barrelhouse of awesome force. The subsequent “Burning Bright” is less single-minded in approach, as solo spots for Grdina, Babin, and Gustafsson are folded into its episodic structure. The four tear into “229” with frenzy, Gustafsson squealing in his upper register and Loewen going toe-to-toe with the saxophonist's wail. Grdina also plays oud during the set and such moments provide temporary shelter from the storm. The Iraqi traditional “Enshakoota,” for example, begins with a four-minute oud spotlight before the others enter to stoke the fire with Gustafsson's elephantine roar leading the way. All told, it's a straight-up and largely unedited document of the set that preserves the dynamic feel of the performance. Egged on by a worshipful audience, the band rips through five pieces like a rabid dog on the attack, the musicians' sound at times reminiscent of Naked City in intensity and of Ornette Coleman's (original) Prime Time in harmolodic approach. Barrel Fire's primal improvisations are most certainly not recommended for the weak of heart.
January 2011