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

August 6, 2026 - Alternative To What?

Kerry was away from ATW (or A2W) for this episode so I filled in. Musically, it was the usual weirdo mix of tracks that I feature when my turn comes on ATW but there were a few slants this week. For example, there was a fair amount of ambientness, more than normal spoken word(ish) stuff, and a fair amount of blues; also less jazz than usual. I'm biased, of course, but this show is worth checking out and you can do that here.

I'm not sure when I will return to Alternative To What (Kerry should be back next week!) but I do know that I will be back at my usual CJSW gig, Breaking The Tethers, on Monday, August 10. Tune in at 10 am MT and go to cjsw.com or 90.9 FM.

Thanks.

Andrew

August 3, 2026

I've said this before, probably a bunch of times now but, on occasion, a Breaking The Tethers show just works well, The music is great and fits together well, my patter works (well, as best as my patter can work 😆), and there are no technical issues. This was one of those programs. I'm not going to point out any specific tune as the whole thing is well worth listening to in one go. And you can do that here. 

There's BTT next week, on Monday, August 10, starting at 10 am MT. Go to cjsw.com or 90.9 FM to take it in.

In addition, if you're keen to hear me do more of my thing on CJSW, I'll be guest-hosting Alternative To What again on Thursday, August 6, beginning at 4 pm MT, at the same coordinates.

Thanks.

Andrew

July 27, 2026

Like the previous week, most of the music featured today was newly released, with a similar lean to Canadian stuff. It started on the mellow side, with a hymn ("Refugee hymn" by Ted Chubb from Live at the statuary) and then headed into different territories. My top two tunes from this show were the live version of "Chunga's revenge" from 1972 by Frank Zappa and the Eddie Harris medley by Seamus Blake. But it was all good stuff and here's where you can listen: shorturl.at/J9R4R.

August 2026 BTT shows are coming soon, with the first program on Monday, August 3 (a holiday in most of Canada). Join me from 10 to 11 am MT at cjsw.com or 90.9 FM.

Thanks.

Andrew

July 23, 2026 - Alternative To What?

Once again, I was very willingly drafted in to temporarily host Alternative To What this week. Kerry was away (probably at some sort of Folk Fest thing 😆) so I filled in and, as always, was very glad to do so. I went to a lot of musical ports in this show; here's some words to describe where I went: Canada (much of the music was by Canadian artists); new (most of the tunes were newly released or re-released); not loud (no metal this time - next time!); prog (Yes and Max Webster); India (Araina Kim and Amrita); and more. You can listen to the whole kit and kaboodle here.

I'll be returning to Alternative To What fairly soon, on Thursday, August 6. Please join me if you can. Things will be starting at 4 pm MT at cjsw.com or 90.9 FM. In the meantime, I'll still be doing my regular program, Breaking The Tethers, every Monday morning. Same station, CJSW, same coordinates. BTT begins at 10 am MT.

Thanks.

Andrew

July 20, 2026

The main labels on this program were "new" and "Canadian". Most of the tunes played were new releases and by Canadian artists, all fine stuff. That being said, perhaps both my fave tracks were neither new or Canadian (well, one of these was a reissue). These were:

"Upper Egypt & Lower Egypt" by Pharoah Sanders and Sonny Sharrock, recorded live in 1993. Great playing on a classic avant jazz tune.

"Iapetus" by Hadley Caliman from the 1971 album of the same title, named after a moon of Saturn. A tenor sax player that I'd never heard of before (or had forgotten). I've glad to have heard him now.

You can listen to these and everything else here. 

There'll be more BTT at CJSW in a week, on Monday, July 27. Tune in starting at 10 am MT. Go to cjsw.com or 90.9 FM.

But I'll on air again sooner than that! I'll be guest-hosting Alternative To What on CJSW on Thursday, July 23. Please join me from 4 to 6 pm MT that day, same station coordinates.

Thanks.

Andrew

July 13, 2026

Mostly new, a few old. That pretty much describes this episode of Breaking The Tethers. There was also a nice variety of sounds and instrumentation. Not much more to say than that. I'd recommend giving it a listen and you can do that here. 

And you can also listen to next week's program! The date will be Monday, July 20. The time will be 10 am MT. The radio station coordinates will be cjsw.com or 90.9 FM.

Thanks.

Andrew

July 6, 2026

The three weeks of celebration for the 20th birthday of Breaking The Tethers comes to an end and we're back this week with a usual sorta BTT show (go here to listen). Mostly it was just music and me rambling a bit between the tunes but also, there was an interview. I was joined by Christophe Magnan-Bossé from the group Greenhouse Ensemble. We talked about the band and their new album, Mezzanine. We concluded by playing a track from Mezzanine, "Variations sur une turlute". Many thanks to Christophe for joining me!

There'll be more "regular" Breaking The Tethers on Monday, July 13. Tune in from 10 to 11 am MT, at cjsw.com or 90.9 FM.

Thanks.

Andrew

June 29, 2026

The three weeks of celebration for the 20th anniversary of Breaking The Tethers comes to a close with this episode. While I very much liked the music featured in the previous two shows, I think I liked this one best. I'd make a list of my faves here but it would basically be the tracklist for the program! Anyway, be sure to check it out.

We're back to a "regular" BTT show next week. Please tune in from 10 to 11 am MT at 90.9 FM or cjsw.com. 

Thanks.

Andrew

June 22, 2016

Welcome to the second of three Breaking The Tethers shows in celebration of 20 years of the program. If memory serves, BTT started on Tuesday, June 20, 2006 though I'm not 100% sure. At any rate, June 22, 2026 is probably the closest to an exact 20th anniversary day that there is going to be. Musically, like the June 15 program, this episode featured a bunch of "hits" from BTT past; basically, some favourite tracks of mine that have been featured on the show. This week, my fave of faves was "Out-bloody-rageous" by Soft Machine, the version from the Third album. I may not have actually played this exact piece for almost 20 years (I think I played it in summer or fall 2006); I've played no small amount of Soft Machine in the years since and I've played different versions of "Out-bloody-rageous" by Soft Machine but not this exact one. You can listen to "Out-bloody-rageous" and more from this program here.

The 20th anniversary musical celebration comes to an end with the next BTT show, on Monday, June 29, from 10 to 11 am MT. Come sit in with me at cjsw.com or 90.9 FM.

Thanks.

Andrew

June 15, 2026

This was the first of three shows in celebration of the (first) 20 years of Breaking The Tethers, featuring a selection of my fave tracks (and hopefully listeners' faves as well) played on BTT over the years. Some of these tunes have been played off and on over the years, some haven't been played for ages. The latter would include the first track in this program, "Song of the Underground Railroad" by John Coltrane, from The complete Africa/Brass sessions. This actually the first piece of music played on BTT in June 2006 and I don't think I've played it since! The whole show is here. 

The second celebratory BTT event will take place next week, on Monday, June 22, from 10 to 11 am MT. Go to cjsw.com or 90.9 FM. Fine music will be featured.

Thanks.

Andrew

 

June 8, 2026

Piles and piles of newly-released music has floated into my world recently. Regular Breaking The Tethers listeners will know that this often means that an "all new" edition is forthcoming. And that's exactly what emerged this week. Lots of great tunes were played (all new, of course! 😆), in a variety of different styles. My fave track? Without a doubt, the fully-crazed "Generative open graphic score #1" by Nolan Hildebrand from the aptly-named album Noise trip explosion. Some folks went nuts over this number and let me know. I suspect that some had seizures. You can listen to this "song" and the rest of the show here.

The next show brings the first of three programs in celebration of the 20th anniversary of Breaking The Tethers. Come hang with me on Monday, June 15 at 10 am, cjsw.com or 90.9 FM for an hour of BTT faves from over the years.

Thanks.

Andrew

Breaking The Tethers 20th Anniversary Shows

On a Tuesday morning in late June 2006 (sorry, I can't quite recall the exact date - maybe it was June 20?), at 6:00 am MT, Breaking The Tethers on CJSW began. What this means is that BTT is going to be 20 years old this month! This warrants some celebration, musically, on the show itself. Here's what's going to happen: The June 8th program will be a regular BTT show; I think going to do an "all-new" program, considering loads of new music has crossed my path. After that, the next three shows, June 15, June 22, and June 29, will be in celebration of the BTT big anniversary. On each of these episodes, I will play fave  tracks from the BTT past; mostly stuff I really dig and some things that I remember that listeners did as well. So, please tune in! Much fun will be had! Go to cjsw.com or 90.9 FM at 10 am MT.

Thanks.

Andrew

June 1, 2026

The main element in this show was a live performance and interview with Fraser, Nat, and Alex from Bowline Jazz. Fraser and Nat came in to chat in April and made a return visit, this time playing four tunes live with Alex. They also talked about their upcoming concert at the Congress Coffee Company on June 26 (there's more details on that here). Many thanks to the Bowline guys for coming on BTT this week. The live recording of the show is here.

As per usual, Breaking The Tethers carries on next week, Monday, June 8. Tune into cjsw.com or 90.9 FM at 10 am MT. I think this is going to be an all-new program; loads of new music has come my way!

Thanks.

Andrew

May 25, 2026

This last Monday in May brought a fairly out-there, heavy-on-guitar version of Breaking The Tethers. Maybe my subconscious thought I was getting too mellow over the past while and made me put this episode together 😄. Regardless, it was a good show and I particularly dug it. A note about the last track, a speedy version of "Footprints" by Miles Davis and group from 1967: This one had been on my "to play on BTT" for ages and I finally managed to give it the air time it deserves! For your listening pleasure, the whole show is here.

Thanks.

Andrew

May 21, 2026 - Alternative To What?

I did the guest-host thing on Alternate To What this week, very gladly, as always. 20 songs played over two hours, coming from death/black metal, modern classical, slick jazz, modern chamber music, Bjork-style pop, Booker T, and much more. When I host Alternative To What, I often use the term "all over the musical map" in some way and I think I hit that mark with this particularly show. Listen to it here. 

I don't know when I'll be back on ATW but I will return to CJSW, hosting Breaking The Tethers on Monday, May 25, 2026. Go to cjsw.com or 90.9 FM from 10 to 11 am MT. 

Thanks.

Andrew

May 18, 2026

There was one longish new track to start off the show this week, "Black cat" by Phil Miller/In Cahoots from 2003. After that, it was all new stuff, six tunes in all. A surprising amount of new content has headed toward me and CJSW in recent weeks and months (so much that I'm backed up, in fact!). I've mentioned this before and I've played a lot of new stuff on BTT already but I still needed to have an "almost all-new" program. Regardless of the label, it was all good music and well worth listening to here.

There's still one more episode of Breaking The Tethers left in May 2026, on Monday, May 25. You can join me for that one starting at 10 am MT at cjsw.com or 90.9.

This week, you can also hang with me as I fill in on Alternative To What again. This will be on Thursday, May 21, 4 to 6 pm MT, same radio station. 

Thanks.

Andrew

April 27, 2026

I've recently returned to doing the occasional "all-new" Breaking The Tethers program (that new music just comes my way) and this was another one of those shows. All good stuff was played but probably my top tracks were the first and last ones played: "The longest night" by Soft Machine from their new release, Thirteen (yay! new Soft Machine!) and "Hold on tight to your music" (always good advice!) by the Setting from their self-titled album. Check this out here. 

Thanks.

Andrew

May 11, 2026

Nine tracks played this week, which is a fair number given the fact that BTT is only an hour long and a jazz show (jazz not being known for very short tunes); I guess I packed 'em in! A nice mix of old and new and various styles. Here's a few of the tunes played that you might want to focus on:

"Five" by Ivo Perelman and Damon Smith: Straight-up free jazz. Haven't played anything quite like this in a little while.

"Three headed dragon" by Jimmy Farace: It's always good to hear some baritone sax.

"Uncommon notion" by Lukas Ligeti: This one went almost everywhere.

"Turmoil" by Soft Machine: New Soft Machine! Always a good thing!

Go to this spot to listen to the show.

Breaking The Tethers returns very soon, on Monday, May 18, starting at 10 am MT. Go to 90.9 FM or cjsw.com and take it all in.

Thanks.

Andrew

May 4, 2026

Part new, part old, part this, part that... A good way to describe the May 11 Breaking The Tethers program. Alternately, I could just point out the lengthy title of the first piece played in the show, some Indo-Jazz from Shakti with the name "What need have I for this, what need have I for that, I am dancing at the feet of my lord, all is bliss, all is bliss". John McLaughlin was WAY INTO his guru at that point, wasn't he? Anyway, the whole show is here for you to listen to.

Thanks.

Andrew