Gordon Grdina, François Houle, Kenton Loewen, Benoît Delbecq - Ghost Lights (2017) [Hi-Res]

This new collective project features four outstanding Vancouver/Paris improvisers with a long track record together in various combinations (e.g. Houle/Delbeq since 1996, Grdina/Houle/Loewen since 2014). Their repertoire ranges from open improvs and atmospheric grooves to evocative compositions by Houle and Delbecq. Deep listening by all involved results in experimental music of crystalline clarity and subtle interplay, drawing on avant jazz, classical and ambient tropes. Utterly fascinating (The Telegraph), French pianist Benoît Delbecq has played with Fred Hersch, Gerry Hemingway, and Evan Parker. The Georgia Straight called his 2012 duo album with Vancouver clarinettist Francois Houle at once otherworldly and organic. A fellow master of extended technique and melodic free improv, Houle is a spectacularly versatile clarinetist who appears to have no limitations stylistically or sonically (LA Times). Completing this boldly adventurous group are guitarist/oud player Gordon Grdina and drummer Kenton Loewen. Regular co-conspirators in the 11-piece avant-Arabic ensemble Haram (which also includes Houle), fiery punk-jazz duo Peregrine Falls, and for years in Dan Mangan + Blacksmith, Grdina and Loewen are cutting edge improvisers.