September 14, 2026

Breaking The Tethers is my program on CJSW but this wasn't my show. I took sick that morning (or I was locked in a tiger cage) and didn't make it to the station. CJSW station manager, Adam Kamis, stepped in and hosted BTT in my place and did a fine job, playing some great tunes. It was very smart the way he did this; basically, he played music that I would play when I guest-host Alternative To What but he did this on Breaking The Tethers! Listen to it all here.

Everything returns to "normal" (should such a thing actually exist) on Monday, September 21. Barring disaster, I'll be back behind the board and on the mic for the next edition of BTT. Please join me for this last-day-of summer 2026 (or last-day-of-winter 2026 if you're in the southern hemisphere) show at 10 am MT at 90.9 FM or cjsw.com.

Thanks.

Andrew

September 10, 2026 - Alternative To What?

This week, I felt the call back to host Alternative To What. Well, actually, Kerry Clarke messaged me and asked me if I could host this show. And, of course, as always, I said "yes"! There were 19 tracks featured in two hours, from here, there, everywhere, and beyond. Here's a word list (salad) of some of what showed up on the program, in no order:

an Ace Frehley live guitar solo

Arab instrumental pop

Captain Beefheart

late period John Coltrane

new Dinosaur Jr.

new (yes, new) Strawberry Alarm Clock

creepy ambient sounds

Indo-violin

And much more.

You can take in the whole mess here.

Thanks.

Andrew

September 7, 2026

This might be one of my top BTT shows. The music was great and everything flowed well. Looking at the music, two of the tracks played really made this episode, I think:

"Slightly all the time" by Soft Machine, from the album Third. An all-time fave, I nearly played this as part of the BTT 20th anniversary shows in June (I played "Out-bloody-rageous" from the same album instead) and figured it needed an airing.

"War pigs" by Russ Anixter's Hippie Big Band from What's next. I didn't announce what the title of the song was before I played it (I mentioned the group and album) and some listeners went nuts (in a good way), texting in. This one will definitely be on the BTT Funding Drive 2026 playlist.

Here's the podcast of this show: tinyurl.com/y6zvthmr

Thanks.

Andrew

August 31, 2026

There's two things to note about this edition of BTT. First, it's an almost all-new show, with 10 of the 11 tracks played being new releases (the piece by Moraine, "In that distant place", is the only "old" track). I didn't plan it this way but this is the way it went. Nothing wrong with it, of course (I had a ton of new stuff to pull from anyway... and still do!). The other notable item to mention deals with the number 11. For an hour-long jazz program, playing 11 pieces is almost amazing; normally, I might get in eight or nine at most. So, it was a music-heavy show. Again, nothing wrong with that! You can take in the whole show here.

Thanks.

Andrew

August 24, 2026

Jazz-rock! That was the term that best described much of the music in this BTT show. I didn't quite plan it that way but, as I heard the sounds and looked back at the track list, lo and behold, it was kind of a jazz-rock program. And I liked it! My fave tune was the first tune, the team-up of Led Zeppelin's "No quarter" and Miles Davis' "Bitches brew" by Russ Anixter's Hippie Big Band, from their recent release, What's next (the same group made a memorable appearance on the Sept. 7 show - stay tuned for that!), which I thought worked just great. Be sure to give the whole episode a listen here.

Thanks.

Andrew

August 17, 2026

For each episode of BTT, among various lists, I keep a list of newly-released material that I could draw on for the show. Just before I began this edition of BTT, I looked at the list and noticed that it was several pages long (it still is on the long side!). What did that tell me? That it was time to do an "all-new" program, which is what this show was. It ended up being pretty good one, I say, with lots of edge and variety and 10 tracks played, which is a fair number for an hour jazz show. Give it a listen here.

Thanks.

Andrew

August 10, 2026

It was the usual nice mix o' jazz-type music on this episode of Breaking The Tethers, with a large chunk of the tracks being new releases. The word that came to mind to describe the proceedings was "moody". I know all music evokes moods of one sort or another but "moody" in and of itself seemed to fit best here. Define it as you will. And listen to the show here.

BTT hits mid-August next, with the show returning on Monday, August 17. To listen, head to 90.9 FM or cjsw.com at 10 am MT.

Thanks.

Andrew