CKUT TOP 30 – SEP 6, 2022:

1. moth cock – whipped stream and other earthly delights – hausu mountain

2. lisa leblanc – chiac disco – bonsound CC

3. dill the giant – weed man son delux – birthday cake CC

4. various – griche la compilation – griche cc*

5. moor mother – jazz codes – anti

6. ron trent presents warm – what do the stars say to you – night time stories

7. various – pierre barouh and the savannah sound – wewantsounds

8. medicine singers – s/t – stone tapes/mothland

9. yoo doo right – a murmur, boundless to the east – mothland CC*

10. kaoru abe no future – another wrong way, again 路又走错一条 – presses precaires

11. cola – deep in view – firetalk

12. steve lacy – gemini rights – rca

13. taigenz – life a life – self CC*

14. various – jazz is dead 011 – jazz is dead

15. spiritualized – everything was beautiful – fat possum

16. ethel cain – preacher’s daughter – daughters of cain

17. moten/lopez/cleaver – s/t – reading group records

18. sohlo – after love – self CC

19. joyfultalk – familiar science – constellation CC

20. various – sharayet el disco: egyptian 80s disco & boogie – wewantsounds

21. elle barbara – delice creole/peach puree – celluloid lunch CC*

22. stefan christoff/lori goldston – punk equinox – dasa tapes CC*

23. robert glasper – black radio iii – loma vista

24. betty padgett – riding with the blues – self

25. sunglaciers – subterannea – motherland CC

26. various – midnight rights: the b music of jean-pierre massiera – finders keepers

27. tess roby – ideas of space – ssurounds CC

28. rip pop mutant – fluxus pop – simone

29. pierre kwenders – jose louis and the paradox of love – arts and crafts CC*

30. irreversible entanglements – down to earth – sub pop

CKUT TOP 10 JAZZ, Aug 30, 2022:

1. thumbscrew – multicolored midnight – cuneiform
2. kirk knuffke trio – gravity without airs – tao forms
3. janel leppin – ensemble volcanic ash – cuneiform
4. heroes are gang leaders – LeAutoRoiOgraphy – 577 music
5. forbes graham – another day another vector – relative pitch
6. steve lehman sélébéyone – xaybu: the unseen – pi recordings
7. nduduzo makhathini – in the spirit of ntu – blue note s.a.
8. reid / kitamura / bynum / morris – geometry of trees – relative pitch
9. tyshawn sorey trio – mesmerism – pi recordings
10. josh sinton – adumbrations – fip

CKUT TOP 30, AUG 23, 2022:

1. moth cock – whipped stream and other earthly delights – hausu mountain
2. lisa leblanc – chiac disco – bonsound CC
3. dill the giant – weed man son delux – birthday cake CC
4. various – griche la compilation – griche cc*
5. moor mother – jazz codes – anti
6. ron trent presents warm – what do the stars say to you – night time stories
7. various – pierre barouh and the savannah sound – wewantsounds
8. medicine singers – s/t – stone tapes/mothland
9. yoo doo right – a murmur, boundless to the east – mothland CC*
10. kaoru abe no future – another wrong way, again 路又走错一条 – presses precaires
11. cola – deep in view – firetalk
12. steve lacy – gemini rights – rca
13. taigenz – life a life – self CC*
14. various – jazz is dead 011 – jazz is dead
15. spiritualized – everything was beautiful – fat possum
16. ethel cain – preacher’s daughter – daughters of cain
17. moten/lopez/cleaver – s/t – reading group records
18. sohlo – after love – self CC
19. joyfultalk – familiar science – constellation CC
20. various – sharayet el disco: egyptian 80s disco & boogie – wewantsounds
21. elle barbara – delice creole/peach puree – celluloid lunch CC*
22. stefan christoff/lori goldston – punk equinox – dasa tapes CC*
23. robert glasper – black radio iii – loma vista
24. betty padgett – riding with the blues – self
25. sunglaciers – subterannea – motherland CC
26. various – midnight rights: the b music of jean-pierre massiera – finders keepers
27. tess roby – ideas of space – ssurounds CC
28. rip pop mutant – fluxus pop – simone
29. pierre kwenders – jose louis and the paradox of love – arts and crafts CC*
30. irreversible entanglements – down to earth – sub pop

CKUT TOP 10 JAZZ, Aug 23, 2022:

1. kirk knuffke trio – gravity without airs – tao forms
2. janel leppin – ensemble volcanic ash – cuneiform
3. tyshawn sorey trio – mesmerism – pi recordings
4. thumbscrew – multicolored midnight – cuneiform
5. reid / kitamura / bynum / morris – geometry of trees – relative pitch
6. josh sinton – adumbrations – fip
7. heroes are gang leaders – LeAutoRoiOgraphy – 577
8. forbes graham – another day another vector – relative pitch
9. gordon grdina nomad trio – boiling point – astral sprits ©
10. devin brahja waldman / hamid drake – mediumistic methodology – astral spirits ©

REST IN PEACE ROBBIE SHAKESPEARE – LAST CHARTS OF THE YEAR: 

CKUT TOP 30, DEC 14 2021

1. ada lea – one hand on the steering wheel the other sewing a garden – saddle creek CC*

2. en fer = thedef timbal – self CC*

3. phu’o’ng tam – magical nights – saigon, surf, twist and soul – sublime frequencies

4. tonstartssbandht – petunia – mexican summer5. d’eon – rhododendron – hausu mountain CC*

6. shad – tao – secret city CC

7. andy shauf – wilds – arts & crafts

8. snotty nose rez kids – life after – distorted muse CC

9. visibly choked – self-titled – mothland CC

10. jerusalem in my heart – qualaq – constellation CC*

11. new chance – real time remixed – we are time CC

12. fire toolz – eternal home – hausu mountain  

13.anarchist mountains – a balkan spacewalk – self CC*

14. jason sharp –  the turning centre of a still world – constellation CC*

15. john heward and alex st. onge – 0,00 – tour de bras CC*

16. various – utopic cities: progressive jazz in belgium 68-79 – sbanrecords

17. liily – tv or not tv – flush

18. big brave and the body – leaving none but small birds – thrill jockey CC

19. aim low – broken sundial – self CC*

20. hot garbage – ride – mothland CC

21. little simz – sometimes i might be introvert (age 101)

22. morceaux de machines – saison gonzo – no type CC*

23. haviah mighty – stock exchange – mighty gang CC

24. the motorists – surrounded – debt offensive CC

25. khöömei beat – changys baglaash – arc

26. moor mother – black encyclopedia of the air – anti

27. the halluci nation – one more saturday night – self CC

28. tone chop and frost gamble – one two- self

29. gayance – no toning down – self CC*

30. myriam gendron – ma delire – songs of love, lost & found – feeding tube CC*

CKUT TOP 30, Nov 16 2020

1. new chance – real time remixed – we are time CC

2. visibly choked – self-titled – mothland CC

3. phu’o’ng tam – magical nights – saigon, surf, twist and soul – sublime frequencies

4. myriam gendron – ma delire – songs of love, lost & found – feeding tube CC*

5. d’eon – rhododendron – hausu mountain CC*

6. shad – tao – secret city CC

7. andy shauf – wilds – arts & crafts

8. snotty nose rez kids – life after – distorted muse CC

9. tonstartssbandht – petunia – mexican summer

10. hot garbage – ride – mothland CC

11. big brave and the body – leaving none but small birds – thrill jockey CC

12. fire toolz – eternal home – hausu mountain

13. crieslol – self title – peyote tapes

14. jason sharp –  the turning centre of a still world – constellation CC*

15. sha money xl – chain on the bike vol 2 – teamwork

16. various – utopic cities: progressive jazz in belgium 68-79 – sdban records

17. intersystems – #4 – waveshaper CC

18. skiifall – woiiyoie tapes vol 1 – self CC*

19. aim low – broken sundial – self CC*

20. satoko fujii – piano music – libra

21. little simz – sometimes i might be introvert (age 101)

22. morceaux de machines – saison gonzo – no type CC*

23. omar sosa & seckou keita – suba – bendigedig

24. the motorists – surrounded – debt offensive CC

25. khöömei beat – changys baglaash – arc

26. moor mother – black encyclopedia of the air – anti

27. the halluci nation – one more saturday night – self CC

28. homeshake – under the weather – sinderlyn

29. amyl and the sniffers – comfort to me – ate

30. montreal jazz trio – s/t – odd sound

1. omar sosa & seckou keita – suba – bendigedig
2. myriam gendron – ma delire – songs of love, lost & found – feeding tube CC*
3. khöömei beat – changys baglaash – arc
4. little simz – sometimes i might be introvert (age 101)
5. various – the sled island rock loto – sled island CC
6. the halluci nation – one more saturday night – self CC
7. hélène barbier – regulus – celluloid lunch – CC*
8. teke teke – shirushi – kill rock stars CC*
9. 2tonejones – contraband from india – self
10. mckinley dixon – for my mama and anyone who look like her – spacebomb
11. amyl and the sniffers – comfort to me – ate
12. half moon run – inwards and onwards – glassworks CC*
13. crieslol – self title – peyote tapes
14. the zolas – come back to life – light organ CC
15. sha money xl – chain on the bike vol 2 – teamwork
16. liars – the apple drop – mute
17. intersystems – #4 – waveshaper CC
18. planet giza – dont throw rocks at the moon – self CC*
19. aim low – broken sundial – self CC*
20. satoko fujii – piano music – libra
21. snapped ankles – forest of your problems – the leaf label
22. sook yin lee and adam litovitz – jooj two – mint CC
23. vernacular – the little bird – astral spirits
24. low – hey what – sub pop
25. common – a beautiful revolution pt 2 – loma vista
26. moor mother – black encyclopedia of the air – anti
27. yoo doo right – don’t think you can escape your purpose – mothland
28. islands – islomania -royal mountain CC
29. alice coltrane – kirtan: turiya sings  – impulse
30. lord high executioner – hanumanzee – bargain bin CC*

1. sadteen – on the internet 24/7 – self CC
2. omar sosa & seckou keita – suba – bendigedig CC
3. intersystems – #4 – waveshaper CC
4. yoo doo right – don’t think you can escape your purpose – mothland
5. various – the sled island rock loto – sled island CC
6. the halluci nation – one more saturday night – self CC
7. hélène barbier – regulus – celluloid lunch – CC*
8. teke teke – shirushi – kill rock stars CC*
9. mdou moctar – afrique victime – matador
10. mckinley dixon – for my mama and anyone who look like her – spacebomb
11. tush – fantast – doo right CC
12. half moon run – inwards and onwards – glassworks CC*
13. crieslol – self title – peyote tapes
14. the zolas – come back to life – light organ CC
15. various – mixtape 1 – we are time – CC
16. kristian north – passion play – mothland CC*
17. liars – the apple drop – mute
18. planet giza – dont throw rocks at the moon – self CC*
19. aim low – broken sundial – self CC*
20. can – live in stuttgart 75 – mute
21. snapped ankles – forest of your problems – the leaf label
22. sook yin lee and adam litovitz – jooj two – mint CC
23. vernacular – the little bird – astral spirits
24. michael feuerstack – harmonize the moon – forward CC*
25. brian jackson, ali shaheed muhammad and adrian young – jid008 – jazzisdead
26. wadada leo smith / milford graves / bill laswell – sacred ceremonies – tum
27. king gizzard and the lizard wizard – butterfly 3000 – kglw
28. islands – islomania -royal mountain CC
29. alice coltrane – kirtan: turiya sings  – impulse
30. body breaks – bad trouble – we are time CC*

TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE CHARTS ::: AUG 31, 2021

1. sadteen – on the internet 24/7 – self CC

2. various – the sled island rock loto – sled island CC

3. intersystems – #4 – waveshaper CC

4. yoo doo right – don’t think you can escape your purpose – mothland

5. greentea peng – man made – emi

6. the halluci nation – one more saturday night – self CC

7. hélène barbier – regulus – celluloid lunch – CC*

8. teke teke – shirushi – kill rock stars CC*

9. mdou moctar – afrique victime – matador

10. mckinley dixon – for my mama and anyone who look like her – spacebomb

11. tush – fantast – doo right CC

12. half moon run – inwards and onwards – glassworks CC*

13. crieslol – self title – peyote tapes

14. the zolas – come back to life – light organ CC

15. various – mixtape 1 – we are time – CC

16. kristian north – passion play – mothland CC*

17. liars – the apple drop – mute

18. planet giza – dont throw rocks at the moon – self CC*

19. aim low – broken sundial – self CC*

20. can – live in stuttgart 75 – mute

21. snapped ankles – forest of your problems – the leaf label

22. sook yin lee and adam litovitz – jooj two – mint CC

23. vernacular – the little bird – astral spirits

24. michael feuerstack – harmonize the moon – forward CC*

25. brian jackson, ali shaheed muhammad and adrian young – jid008 – jazzisdead

26. wadada leo smith / milford graves / bill laswell – sacred ceremonies – tum

27. king gizzard and the lizard wizard – butterfly 3000 – kglw

28. rochelle jordan – play with the changes  – young art CC

29. alice coltrane – kirtan: turiya sings  – impulse

30. body breaks – bad trouble – we are time CC*

Ensemble Obiora, Canada’s newest and most diverse classical music ensemble, is preparing for their inaugural concert on August 28th. Founders Brandyn Lewis, a professional bass player in the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and Allison Migeon, arts manager, are excited to share the ensemble’s incredible talent and a repertoire of less-familiar compositions with curious listeners.

JD: I understand that Ensemble Obiora is quite a new initiative. How did this come together and what motivated you?

BL: The idea came about in March or April and a motivator was really to increase diversity in classical music. We spoke to a lot of musicians of color in Canada and it’s something that they wanted to create but didn’t really know how to do, so we thought this is a great time, especially with the events last year, to start something in Canada and really let audiences know about this whole wealth of talented musicians, but also composers who music history has not put in the spotlight.

JD: Who is involved and how did you put the ensemble together?

AM: The ensemble is currently 30 musicians of different origins, with the goal being to have as many diverse musicians as possible.

BL: Because I’ve been working in Montreal and I went to school with a lot of musicians, I already had an idea in my head of which musicians to choose from, and the more I progressed, the more names I found, the more people I discovered. I realize there are actually a lot of musicians of color that I just did not know about; we’re sort of like peeling the layers and finding more and more and it makes me so happy to see this.

AM: There are also musicians who heard of us and contacted us directly.

JD: I understand from an outsider perspective that classical music is grounded on these principles of virtuosity and colonial, patriarchal, imperial ideas of excellence. So I’m curious, for this initiative, what is it about classical music that you appreciate and want to keep and bring forward into this project, and what do you want to change or divert from?

BL: Well, I think the points you mentioned, the virtuosity and the technical proficiency, all of that we definitely want to keep, because what we want to show first and foremost is the exceptional talents of our musicians, and to show that we’re all playing at a high level. The musicianship is also important. What we want to divert from is this elitist way of thinking. We’re trying to build the communities that were not allowed to participate in classical music historically. We see a lot of examples of highly skilled composers in the different musical eras that were shunned and were not given an opportunity to really shine because of their skin color. We want to open the doors to anyone who’s interested and we just want to show that it’s a possible career path, and one can be successful if one puts the time in and is motivated, of course with a lot of hours of practice.

AM: What is special is that many musicians from Afro cultures studied Western musical traditions. We want to show the mix between these two cultures, and that there were composers who also came from this culture who were a part of classical music but were pushed aside.

JD: I understand you want to expose listeners to this repertoire of underrepresented composers. So can you speak a little bit more about some of the pieces that the ensemble works on and some of the composers whose work you play?

BL: We’re going to open the concert with a short wind quintet by Jeff Scott, who is an American horn player from the Imani Winds. He actually just retired recently but he’s been in the quintet for over 20 years. This wind quintet is composed largely of musicians of color, and I think they’re one of the more important chamber groups in the 21st century to highlight this diversity, not only in the musicians, but the pieces that they play – a lot of the pieces are composed by their own members. That will be followed by a Nonet by Samuel Coleridge Taylor, who is a mixed-race English composer of the late Romantic Period. He is someone who was also put on the side in English society and so a lot of his music hasn’t been fully developed. It’s becoming more developed now, especially in the UK and a little bit in the States. That will be followed by Joseph Boulogne’s Symphony Number one. He was a contemporary of Mozart, actually born before Mozart, yet he’s always called the Black Mozart. Mozart stole some of the elements of his music and he never got the credit for it.

AM: And there’s the case of Joseph Boulogne who was a French mixed-race composer whose mother was a slave and father was a plantation owner so he was sent to France to study music. He was privileged by having the noble status so he had a great education and his candidacy was sent to the Opera de Paris (at the time the Académie de Musique) but it wasn’t accepted because the singers in the opera didn’t want to be under the order of a mixed-race person, even though he was known for his talent.

BL: For example, in all of my music history classes, I was never taught about these composers. Maybe in a specialized course on 20th century opera I learned about one or two Black composers, but for a lot of us, Black musicians, we have to do all the research on our own. I only just learned in the last year of all these composers, especially American composers that have been writing music for the better part of the 20th century.

JD: How do you imagine the experience will be different for the listener on the 28th coming to see your ensemble? Rather than experiencing a concert of the Symphony Orchestra, or some of the other longer standing classical ensembles?

BL: Well, I think one of my hopes is that the audience members leave with a lot of questions and a sense of curiosity to discover more of these composer’s works. I think if we can really do that, then we’ve succeeded, because they just need to know about them, someone needs to present it to them. Our job is to perform at our best and give a convincing performance. For example, I performed a symphony by William Grant Still, who was an Afro American composer in the 20th century, and I was reading some of the comments in the live stream and a lot of the audience members had never heard of him, but loved his music and were like “Oh, my gosh, thank you for sharing this with us. I never knew who he was and I’m looking forward to learning more about his music.” So I think that’s one of the aspects that I’m looking forward to.

AM: We also hope people will find a new connection with classical music through the stories of the composers and realize that it’s legitimate and they can enjoy it as well. I know that young people are interested in classical music and they don’t have the same ideas about who it’s for or who can play it. Maybe it will change the mentality. We hope that the kids who come to the concert will see that there is a possibility there and they have the right to enjoy classical music.

BL: We do realize that not everyone is going to like the music. For a lot of people, it’s just not in their cultures, and a lot of people don’t feel comfortable going outside of their own cultures. We don’t want to force this on anyone. But if we can reach just a small percentage, for us, that’s a great job. It makes us happy to see that we can touch people’s lives like that. I wish I had Black classical music role models when I was a young kid, so I’m trying to be that for this next generation.

AM: We know how important it is.

BL: I think there’s already so much excitement about this, because this is the first time that an ensemble like this is created in Canada, to our knowledge, and I think with this, this climate we’re in, it’s the perfect time. Life before the pandemic was so busy and always on the go and this past year forced everyone to stop and really think about what’s truly important in life. And that’s when we notice all the inequalities that are going on. And it’s a lot. It’s emotionally draining. But I think we’re trying to do our best here.

JD: What’s behind the name, Obiora?

AM: Obiora is a Nigerian first name that means “the people’s heart or desire” and we wanted to find a word that was strong and represented something. Also, we both come from the Caribbean but we realized that our origins are both Nigerian from a DNA test.

AM: We’re working on some other concerts and other projects. We’ve been very lucky to have the support of people and institutions. This concert is supported by the Centre National des Arts. We’re also lucky to be supported by the CAM for another project in September and we have been in communication with community organizations and have many projects on the horizon.

BL: The final goal is to create a symphony orchestra. We have a database of musicians, and we pretty much have all of the instruments required. We keep adding more and more all the time. We would also like to have an educational aspect to it as well for young kids.

AM: For the moment we are focusing on composers of the African diaspora but it’s not going to be our main focus. We want to perform the work of many different composers and especially female composers. The goal is to be as large and diverse as possible in our future projects.

TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE CHARTS ::: AUG 24, 2021

1. hélène barbier – regulus – celluloid lunch – CC*
2. various – the sled island rock loto – sled island CC
3. intersystems – #4 – waveshaper CC
4. yoo doo right – don’t think you can escape your purpose – mothland
5. greentea peng – man made – emi
6. the halluci nation – one more saturday night – self CC
7. marc montanchez – four songs ep – self CC*
8. teke teke – shirushi – kill rock stars CC*
9. mdou moctar – afrique victime – matador
10. mckinley dixon – for my mama and anyone who look like her – spacebomb
11. tush – fantast – doo right CC
12. half moon run – inwards and onwards – glassworks CC*
13. crieslol – self title – peyote tapes
14. the zolas – come back to life – light organ CC
15. various – mixtape 1 – we are time – CC
16. kristian north – passion play – mothland CC*
17. le fly pan am – frontera – constellation CC*
18. planet giza – dont throw rocks at the moon – self CC*
19. aim low – broken sundial – self CC*
20. can – live in stuttgart 75 – mute
21. snapped ankles – forest of your problems – the leaf label
22. sook yin lee and adam litovitz – jooj two – mint CC
23. vernacular – the little bird – astral spirits
24. michael feuerstack – harmonize the moon – forward CC*
25. sadteen – on the internet 24/7 – self CC
26. wadada leo smith / milford graves / bill laswell – sacred ceremonies – tum
27. king gizzard and the lizard wizard – butterfly 3000 – kglw
28. rochelle jordan – play with the changes – young art CC
29. alice coltrane – kirtan: turiya sings – impulse
30. body breaks – bad trouble – we are time CC*