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