April 23, 2026 - Alternative To What?

This was the first of two Alternative To What episodes hosted by me at the end of April 2026. Only 14 tracks played, in two hours (when I last hosted ATW, on April 2, I played 22 tracks). So, longer pieces played this week. The overall tone of the program was interesting, too; experimental-ambient-rock? I'm sure there are better terms that can be employed but these will do for now. My fave song from this show was "Buffet tea for two" by Family, from their last album, It's only a movie, released in 1973; it's a nifty, well-structured song with nice solos (piano and guitar) and I've become somewhat obsessed with it. You can listen to this song and the rest of the show here.

My second April ATW hosting gig will take place on Thursday, April 30, from 4 to 6 pm MT, at 90.9 or cjsw.com. Please join me.

I'll also put a plug in for my regular CJSW hosting job, Breaking The Tethers. The next edition of BTT will take place on Monday, April 27, 10 to 11 am MT, the usual place. Please join me then and there too.

Thanks.

Andrew

April 20, 2026

This week, I did what I was planning to do last week. I played a big, old tune (in this case, it was “Sahara” by McCoy Tyner from the 1972 album of the same name, a great trip into sonic space) followed by five great newly-released songs. It’s all here for your listening pleasure.

There’ll be more of the same, at least in a general sense, next week on Breaking The Tethers. Go to 90.9 FM or cjsw.com from 10 to 11 am MT on Monday, April 27.

Thanks.

Andrew

April 13, 2026

The original plan for this week was to play one long, older piece at the start of the program and then shift to some newer releases for the remainder (I've been doing this on BTT a fair amount recently). However, I completely forgot that I had an interview in this episode! I talked with Fraser Calhoun and Nat Lazorrotto about their concert series, which was a lot of fun. Best thing of luck to them with their shows! The rest of the program was filled with new material, plus a couple of Art Blakey tunes. Listen to it all here!

Thanks.

Andrew

April 6, 2026

This was another BTT program in what has become somewhat of a recent pattern: One long older track (in this case, “Music for electric violin and low budget orchestra” by Jean-Luc Ponty, composed and arranged by Frank Zappa), followed by some newly-released music. Well, it mostly followed this pattern; I received a request to play “Alice” by Tom Waits so I fit that into the song list as well. You can listen to the whole lot here.

The show on Monday, April 13 will follow “the pattern”, as described above. I’m planning to play a long track by the late, great McCoy Tyner, with new stuff in its wake. Tune into 90.9 FM or cjsw.com at 10 am MT. 

Thanks.

Andrew

April 2, 2026 - Alternative To What?

This was the first of three Alternative To What episodes in April 2026 that will feature me as host (thanks to regular host, Kerry Clarke!). This week featured the usual ATW mixed bag of beats and sounds; however, most of the tracks played were newly released or newly re-released, something that usually doesn’t happen when I host ATW (I play new stuff but not this much). Only four of the 20+ tracks played were “old”. But it was all nifty stuff and you can listen to it here.

I’ll be back as ATW host on Thursday, April 23 and Thursday, April 30. Join me at 4 pm MT at 90.9 FM or cjsw.com.

Thanks.

Andrew

March 30, 2026

Today's program was 3/4 new, 1/4 old, at least in terms of playing time. Song-wise, it was 4/5 new and 1/5 old. The "old" was a long piece by Lee Morgan I haven't played on BTT for many years, "Search for the new land", from the album of the same name.  I've played Lee Morgan more recently but not this track. It might be my fave Lee Morgan tune; if not, it's up there. You can listen to it and more here.

Breaking The Tethers pops up again on Monday, April 6, usual time, usual place: 10 to 11 am MT at 90.9 FM or cjsw.com. 

Thanks.

Andrew

March 23, 2026

The operative word for this episode of Breaking The Tethers was “new”. New, new, new, new. Everything played in this program was newly released or newly re-released. I do programs like this every now and again, but, off the top of my head, I haven’t done one of these for several months, maybe longer. Plenty of “new” material has crossed my path recently so a “new” show seemed appropriate. Listen to the thing here. 

There’s one more Breaking The Tethers in March 2026, on Monday, March 30. Tune in from 10 to 11 am MT at 90.9 FM or cjsw.com. Good things will happen. 

Thanks.

Andrew

March 16, 2026

This program definitely leaned into the avant-garde/experimental stuff, particularly large group sounds in this style. This could be seen with all the gongs! Gongs showed up on more than more track. Jazz needs more gongs, I say. Plus, there was Shatner! Listen to the show here. 

There’s more music on Monday, March 23. Join me from 10 to 11 am MT at cjsw.com or 90.9 FM.

Thanks!

Andrew

March 9, 2026

11 tracks played today (which is a lot for a jazz show in one hour), most of which were new releases. Many different styles covered. I can’t say much more. It was just a good show. You should listen to it. It’s here.

Monday, March 16 will bring many things but, most important among them will be the next episode of Breaking The Tethers. Join me for loads of jazz music from 10 to 11 am MT at cjsw.com or 90.9 FM.

Thanks.

Andrew

March 2, 2026

New and old gather together in this week’s program. The main thing was a version of “My favourite things” played by John Coltrane and group from his late period, in fact, recorded at his second last concert (and the last one recorded). It’s a major, furious freakout. I played this several years ago (maybe longer?) and was happy to inflict it on the world again. Check it out here. 

Breaking The Tethers will carry on next on Monday, March 9 at 10 am MT (going for one hour, to 11 am MT). Join me then at cjsw.com or 90.9 FM. 

Thanks.

Andrew

February 23, 2026

This episode of Breaking The Tethers followed in the mould of the previous week in that it presented several new tracks along with a featured older piece or two pieces in this case (though they could be thought of as one thing). The older works were "Peace one" and "Peace two" by John McLaughlin from his high-point album My goals beyond; two fave tracks of mine, from a fave album. There was also a taste of "regional" music; some of the tunes had Afrobeat, Indian, and Middle Eastern sounds. It was all very good stuff, I say, and you can listen to it here.

Thanks.

Andrew

February 16, 2026

This was a split show of sorts. A quarter of the program was "old", basically one long track ("Kings and queens" by the Soft Bounds group, as they can be called). The rest of the things played were all new releases; I had a bit of build-up of new stuff that I wanted to play. Of the new ones, my faves were probably "Liquid sunshine" by Glenn Makos & BRu, from Arrowsic, and "Soupe pragmatique by Hugo Blouin, from Le buffet. Go here to listen this show. 

There's one last episode of Breaking The Tethers left in February, on February 23. You can join me from 10 to 11 MT, at cjsw.com or 90.9 FM.

Thanks.

Andrew

February 9, 2026

Nine tracks played this week, some old, some new, maybe leaning a little more "light" in sound. Here's a few I particularly liked:

"Once upon a time" by John Surman. There are some great solos in this piece recorded in 1969 in Germany.

"Bouquet" by Bobby Hutcherson. A mellower piece from what might be my fave Bobby Hutcherson album, Happenings.

"Phthalo green" by Bluebird. New, woodwind-fronted avant jazz.

"Clav it up your way" by Lettuce. Ends the show in a funky way.

You can listen to this show here.

Please tune in for the next BTT show, which will be on Monday, February 16, from 10 to 11 am MT, at cjsw.com or 90.9 FM. 

Thanks.

Andrew

February 5, 2026 - Alternative To What?

I was willingly drafted back to duty on Alternative To What this week. Loads of great tracks played, with a bit of an overall slant to guitars. There were also some wonderful song titles e.g. “When Satan ruled the earth, Jesus made my fish tank boil” by Upsilon Acrux and “A steady heartbeat is the sound of death” by Rick Parker and Li Daiguo. I am always a sucker for an interesting or crazed title. You can listen to this show here.

I believe Kerry will return to Alternative To What on Thursday, February 12. I’ll return to my regular show, Breaking The Tethers, on Monday, February 9. Come hang with me at 90.9 FM or cjsw.com from 10 to 11 am MT.

Thanks.

Andrew

February 2, 2026

Apart from a few newly-released songs played at the end of the program, this main event for this show was a tribute to the Man From Saturn, Sun Ra, inspired by the album My words are music: a celebration of Sun Ra’s poetry. Here’s what was played: Two Sun Ra pieces, one solo piano, one full band; five poems, and two short interludes (played on EVI by 101 year-old Arkestra bandleader, Marshall Allen). It was all fine stuff. Listen to it here.

I’ll be back with more BTT soon, on Monday, February 9, 10 to 11 am MT, cjsw.com or 90.9 FM. If you can, please join me.

You can also join me on Thursday, February 5, when I guest-host Alternative To What on CJSW. Regular host Kerry Clarke is away so I will be doing my thing in her stead. Tune in from 4 to 6 pm MT.

Thanks.

Andrew

January 26, 2026

Only four tracks this week, mostly crazy stuff . The first two played this week were particularly nuts. These were "Septober energy pt. 1" from Centipede (50+ people in the band!) and "My friend, blood is shaking my heart" by Masayuki Takyanagi, which was totally bonkers. On a mellower note, I also played a jazzy version of the Grateful Dead's "The music never stopped", co-written by Dead guitarist Bob Weir, who passed away earlier this month.

February 2026 rolls around with the next BTT program, on Monday, February 2, 2026. Come hang with me at 90.9 FM or cjsw.com, starting at 10 am MT.

Thanks.

Andrew

January 19, 2026

Recently on BTT, I've been playing some longer tunes, often faves of some sort. This week, I brought out the longer version of Miles Davis' "Circle in the round", which is definitely a favourite. I've played this before but not for several years, maybe longer. Anyway, I was glad to put this one back on air again.

I was also pleased to feature a track from piano-player and composer Jason Moran ("Sound it out" from the album Black stars). Years back, I played Moran tunes here and there but, for some reason, I haven't done so recently. Like "Circle in the round", I was glad to play some Moran music.

Here's a link to the podcast for this show. 

We hit the end of January soon, with the next edition of Breaking The Tethers taking place on Monday, January 26, from 10 to 11 am MT, at cjsw.com or 90.9 FM. Please join me there and then.

Thanks.

Andrew

October 23, 2025 - Alternative To What?

In addition to hosting the 2025 Funding Drive (FD) show for Breaking The Tethers, three days earlier than this, I took part in the FD program for Alternative To What. I guest-hosted Alternative To What during funding drives 2024 and 2025. Regular host Kerry Clarke was back in person this year (she called in during the last couple of years) but asked me to join her live, which I was very glad to do. The songs played were mostly Kerry's fine selections but I picked a couple of tracks myself, "Sixteen shots" by Sugar Brown (which was a big hit when I played it on Alternative To What a few months earlier) and "Enlightenment" by the Atlantic Jazz Ensemble. You can take in the whole thing here.

Thanks.

Andrew

October 20, 2025

This was the annual Funding Drive (FD) program for Breaking The Tethers, part of CJSW's 2025 FD. You can listen to the whole thing here.

Musically, it featured a handful of great tracks that had been featured on various BTT episodes since the last FD show. I really liked all of the music but I think my favourite was "Theme from electric surfboard" by Brother Jack McDuff from Ain't no sunshine: live in Seattle.

Money-wise, nearly $800 was pledged on this show, a fantastic number, especially considering that BTT is a niche program and only on the air for one hour a week. Here's who donated; many, many thanks to them:

Daniel

Doug

Helen

Janine

Jaydene

Kat

Kerry

Kyle

Miguel

Peter

Rod

Scott

Steve

Tim

Thanks.

Andrew

October 27, 2025

This was the first show after the Breaking The Tethers CJSW 2025 Funding Drive program and a solid one it was at that, I think! My fave two bits were the Rich Brown track, "Turiyasangitanandada - the transcendental lord's highest song of bliss (meditation for Alice Coltrane)", which includes some spoken word by Alice herself, followed by "Battle at Armageddon" from Alice's record Universal consciousness. Check it out here.

Thanks.

Andrew

January 12, 2026

After playing the "father" (John Coltrane) two weeks ago, the "son" (Pharaoh Sanders) last week, it was the turn of the "holy ghost" or Albert Ayler this week. I selected one of his crazier tunes, featuring bagpipes in a free jazz setting, to inflict on the world. I've played this before, once or twice over the years, and it was time to turn to this fave again. The rest of the program was pretty nifty too; mostly newly-released stuff (including music inspired by Isaac Asimov!) that fit together very well. Go here to listen to this show.

Things carry on as per normal next week. Breaking The Tethers returns on Monday, January 19, from 10 to 11 am MT, at cjsw.com or 90.9 FM, Please join me then!

Thanks.

Andrew

January 8, 2026 - Alternative To What?

Alternative To What host, Kerry Clarke, summoned me to host this edition of ATW (or A2W), to which I gladly said "yes"!. I played the usual mixed bag o music though, if there was a lean this time, it was a lean to hard(er) rock (heck, I played Black Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult!). Also, I managed to fit in 22 songs. That's a fair number, even for two hours. If you're hosting a punk show, 22 songs is no problem but most other types of programs can't make that total, usually (coming from a jazz show, if I play 8 or 9 tracks in an hour, I've squeezed things about as much as I can). You can listen to the podcast of this Alternative To What episode here.

Thanks.

Andrew

January 5, 2025

The first show of a new year. I figured I would start with a bang of sorts, by playing "Sun in Aquarius" by Pharoah Sanders, from his Jewels of thought album. It's got melodic segments but most of this track is a freak-out, complete with gong action (we need more gongs in music these days, I say). In the free jazz tenor sax player pantheon, as described by Albert Ayler, John Coltrane is the Father, Pharoah Sanders in the Son, and Ayler is the Holy Ghost. As I played Coltrane last week, playing Sanders this week seemed appropriate. Next week, I think I'll pull out some Ayler. Here's where you can tune into this week's program: shorturl.at/4hrGP.

The second episode of BTT for 2026 will take place on Monday, January 12, running from 10 to 11 am MT, at cjsw.com or 90.9 FM. I'm hoping you can join me!

I should note that I will be back on air before next Monday. On this coming Thursday, January 8, I'll be subbing for regular host Kerry Clarke on her program, Alternative To What. Come hang with me from 4 to 6 pm MT, again, at cjsw.com or 90.9 FM.

Thanks.

Andrew

November 3, 2025

This was an “all-new” edition of Breaking The Tethers. All the music played in this show was newly-released (I don’t recall that think there was any re-released music). Every once in a while, when the new music that I want to play on BTT piles up a bit too much, I do an “all-new” program. Sometimes, it’s a once-in-a-while thing, sometimes it’s more frequent (I’ve done a few weeks of “all-new” shows in a row). At any rate, good music was played; check it out here.

Thanks.

Andrew

November 10, 2025

Unlike the previous episode, which was an “all-new” show, this was more of the usual fare for Breaking The Tethers, a mix of dates and styles. Perhaps the main thing to note was that a whopping 12 songs were played; this is a lot for a 60 minute show, and a jazz one at that (jazz tunes are often notoriously not short). And I don’t recall that any of the tracks were particularly short (though there was nothing particularly long  either). Anyway, you can check it out for yourself at this place.

Thanks.

Andrew

November 17, 2024

This was a fun show! The main thing that made it so fun was that there was a live band performance, featuring Calgary group the Way Ahead Trio. They played four of the tracks from their new EP and then came into the booth for an interview. It was a pleasure chatting with them. I especially enjoyed talking with them about the use of the EVI instrument in their music, played by David Lavoie. You can hear everything here. 

Thanks.

Andrew

November 24, 2025

The 11th month comes to an end for BTT with a mixed bag episode; part new, part old, part “normal”, part out there. Sounds like a regular Breaking The Tethers show. Also, 10 tracks were played, which is a bit more than usual. One particular track to note, “Monoceros 4” by Evan Parker; I’ve been playing pieces from Parker’s Monoceros album here and there in the latter part of 2025. You can listen to “Monoceros 4” and more here.

Thanks.

Andrew

December 29, 2025

For the last Breaking The Tethers program for 2026, I decided to go with one. One long, long track played over the better part of 60 minutes. And who better to go with for this than the great John Coltrane. In 1966, he was playing, far out tunes, taking a big dip into the sonic bath. His Live in Japan album, recorded in 1966, features six pieces on four CDs - do the math! The song I selected was "Crescent", originally released on the album of the same title in 1964 (the band also plays a bit of "Leo" at the end of the performance). I've played this before, when I had a multi-hour show, but as it's about 55 minutes long, it still fits nicely into the one hour I have for BTT these days. You can listen to the whole shebang here.

BTT show number one of 2026 will take place on Monday, January 5, 2026, starting at 10 am MT, at 90.9 FM or cjsw.com. I will play more than just one track on this show - maybe four or five! 😁

Also this coming week, I'll be appearing on Alternative To What, filling in for Kerry, on Thursday, January 8, starting at 4 pm MT, again on CJSW, 90.9 FM or cjsw.com. I'm not sure what'll be on the bill for ATW but, at the least, I'll be doing my usual trip all over that musical map.

Thanks.

Andrew

December 22, 2025

This was the closest Breaking The Tethers show to December 25 so I made it the Christmas edition of BTT. In past years, I've mixed up the usual BTT jazz fare, some of it with a Christmas or holiday theme, with a few non-jazz tracks of a more crazy but seasonal nature. This year, I just went for the latter. No "normal" jazz just Christmas, crazy Christmas. There were 12 songs, some played in previous years, some new to BTT. Here's a sampling of what we had:

Christmas death metal: "Greensleeves" by J.J. Hrubovcak

Daniel Johnston: "Christmas in the looney bin"

Chapman Stick Christmas: "Skating" by Brian Baggett

Experimental Christmas: "Holy night" by Eigenradio

Jimi Hendrix Christmas: "Little drummer boy/Silent night/Auld lang syne"

Sound collages: "Merry fucking Christmas" by Alias Frequencies and "Xmas (excerpt)" by Wayne Butane

Soul Christmas: "I want to come home for Christmas" by Marvin Gaye

Folky Christmas: "Cutty wren" by Richard Thompson, and "The cherry tree carol" by Pentangle

And more! 

The place to go to listen to this fine mess is here. Do it!

Thanks.

Andrew

December 15, 2025

The December 15 show... Christmas is a-comin' and the music is getting weirder... Not that that's a bad thing at all! My fave two tracks this week were probably "Idiom I" by Anna Webber and "As though they knew" by Valley Voice (both Canadian!) but, really, I quite liked all the tracks. I think you will too! You can listen to this show here.

Thanks.

Andrew

December 8, 2025

On the page for this show on the CJSW site (which also includes a link to the recording of the program), my comment on this BTT episode was "Just a bit of this, a bit of that...", which pretty much well describes the proceedings. And I started with a Tony Williams track, which is never a bad thing. Anyway, I invite you to give it a listen.

Thanks.

Andrew