The concert featuring clarinetist François Houle and guitarist Gordon Grdina is an event of the kind that could be imagined in dozens of ways, and each of them would be justified. The Canadian artists have taken part in various, sometimes very different projects, and we can expect anything from them.

Among others, Grdina has played free jazz with Mats Gustafsson and Matthew Shipp – and these are just two names from a long list of his collaborators. The guitarist’s mentor was Gary Peacock, with whom – together with Paul Motian – he recorded the album Think Like The Waves. Grdina also specialises in Arabic music, often swapping the guitar for the oud. He has also performed heavy, post-rock compositions with the group The Twain. Houle, in turn, has performed chamber works by Lutosławski, Piazzola and Ravel as well as recording albums with the greatest figures of improvisation. He has shared the stage or studio with Marilyn Crispell, Georg Gräw, Joëlle Léandre and Evan Parker, for example. When Houle tells his story, he emphasises: “The synthesis of genres is what defines my artistic aspirations.”

The musicians have been working together for many years but have only recently started playing as a duo. During the concert, they will present music from the upcoming album Heliotrope. Grdina plays the acoustic guitar and oud, while Houle plays the clarinet and flute. Charming melodies prevail, there is no lack of quiet impressions, lively dialogues and virtuoso passages sometimes accelerate. Here and there, dissonance creeps in, and a moment of disarray occurs.