François Houle 4: Recoder

“Strong from our first release on Songlines Records, the quartet is about to embark on a Canadian Jazz Festival tour in July of 2022, and going to record a second album at East Side Sounds in NYC.

This band features some of my favourite musicians on the planet. I’ve been dreaming of working with Gerry Hemingway (drums) ever since I heard him for the first time on those legendary Braxton Quartet recordings from the 80’s. Mark Helias (bass) has performed with pretty much everyone you can imagine, from Ed Blackwell to Tony Malaby. Joining these two monster musicians is my long time collaborator (and Juno Award winner!) Gordon Grdina on guitar.”
— François Houle (clarinets, composition)

“listed in DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE on Best of 2020!!! (January 2021 edition)”

“One reason why Canadian clarinettist François Houle’s compositions roar with such fierce and indefatigable energy lies in the personnel and instrumentation he’s assembled to play them”
— Daniel Spicer, The Wire (november 2020)

“The leader’s writing reflects the chamber-like vibe of Jimmy Giuffre’s trio with Paul Bley and Steve Swallow”
— Peter Margasak, Downbeat (November 2020)