Gordon Grdina will play six of the 11 nights of the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, June 21 to July 1, in four different groups.
Qalandar plays at Electric Owl June 23, Haram plays the Vogue June 28, Sangha reunites for a show that isnt listed in the Jazz Fest program at China Cloud and the Gord Grdina Trio performs three times, June 22 at Ironworks with bass saxophone player Colin Stetson who has played with Arcade Fire, Tom Waits and Bon Iver.
Im pretty stoked about playing a show with Colin Stetson and playing Ironworks because it seems like its almost a series for the last four years or so of playing a concert there with someone that we love, Grdina said from Thunder Bay on Monday, where hed just arrived to play with drummer Kenton Loewens band the Crackling. We recorded one and did a record with [Swedish saxophone player] Mats Gustafsson and then last year we played with [trombonist] Samuel Blaser, which was really great
Grdina, an experimental guitarist and accomplished player of the pear-shaped string instrument the oud, is also looking forward to leading nine of his favourite local musicians, including trumpeter JP Carter, violinist Jesse Zubot and clarinetist Francois Houle in Haram, which interprets Egyptian radio music from the 1940s to 60s and Iraqi folk music.
Things will get a little quieter and more introspective for Qalandars show. The newer group melds Persian and free improvisation performing traditional pieces and contemporary compositions with Loewen on drum set. Which isnt a typical Persian instrument, Grdina said. But its like were paying reverence to the Persian history.
Grdina, who grew up in Burnaby and attended school in East Vancouver, started playing piano when he was seven and guitar when he was nine. He played rock and roll and then immersed himself in the blues. Grdina discovered improvising and then jazz. At 13, his guitar teacher Marko Ferenc played him a CD with Simon Shaheem playing the oud.
I couldnt figure out how the sound was being made. It blew my mind, Grdina said. So I juast started listening to a lot of oud players.
He studied music at Capilano University, Western Washington University and then bought an oud online and started studying with Iraqi oud virtuoso, Serwan Yamokly.
Grdina then started a band called Sangha, a Persian/Arabic/Indian group. We havent played in a while, Grdina said.
One of Sanghas members lives in New York and the tabla player lives in Los Angeles but theyre all in Vancouver during Jazz Fest so theyre reuniting for the one-off show.
Grdina plays oud in many of his ensembles but plays both guitar and oud in his trio.
When Im playing in the trio I can do anything that I want to do. And Ive got these musicians who can also do that, so when were playing, we can go anywhere we need to go, he said. We can be playing really quiet introspective Arabic music and then the next moment be like raging loud punk rock and be screaming loud.
Its my favourite band to play in, Grdina added. Ive said that twice today for two different bands, but I love them all.
The 28th annual TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival includes 300 indoor and outdoor performances and 150 free concerts. Festival headliners include Herbie Hancock, the David Murray Infinity Quartet featuring Macy Gray and Nikki Yanofsky. For the second year in a row, free opening weekend concerts (June 22 and 23) will take place at the Vancouver Art Gallery and Robson Square. The festival closes with free concerts during David Lam Park Jazz Weekend (June 29 to 30) and on four stages during Canada Day on Granville Island starting at noon. For more information, see vanjazzfest.ca.
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