LINE 29

Gordon Grdina, guitar

Francois Houle, clarinets

Karlis Silins, bass

Kenton Loewen, drums

Box Cutter cuts through stylistic boundaries. The players weave in and out of free-form improvisations, grooves, and lyrical melodic statements with equal enjoyment. The band leaves no stone unturned, making use of every possibility that presents itself. This is a band that loves to improvise. It will make music out of anything: the sound of wind, a chime, a feel, a phrase, a tune... Box Cutter feels equally at home making music out of pure sound and texture as making a soulful melody sing.

What the critics are saying:

Gordon Grdina's Box Cutter: Unlearn (2006, Spool/Line): Oh dear, another good guitar album! Grdina is based on Vancouver. Plays oud and an interest in Arabic classical music, but here it's just guitar, in a quartet with François Houle on clarinets. Houle is terrific. Grdina mostly pushes things along, momentum the secret of the success. [B+(***)]