And here it is!
Once again, Four on the Floor correspondent Tim Mah offers his generous and extensive annual year-end curated list of music released by Canadian jazz artists over the course of the past year 2024.
As you will read and hear below, there continues to be lots of great music coming out of Canada these days. Thankfully, Tim has a taken a great deal of time and effort to give us a perspective on the current state of jazz music happening today across our country.
Tim's weekly radio program Jazz Today can be heard on CJSW Radio 90.9 fm (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) on Thursday mornings from 530-7am MST. It is also streamed on the CJSW website and available through Apple and Google podcasts and the CJSW mobile streaming app. Tim's weekly radio program and podcast is also recommended by New Music USA.
Thank you once again Tim!
Tim's weekly radio program Jazz Today can be heard on CJSW Radio 90.9 fm (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) on Thursday mornings from 530-7am MST. It is also streamed on the CJSW website and available through Apple and Google podcasts and the CJSW mobile streaming app. Tim's weekly radio program and podcast is also recommended by New Music USA.
Thank you once again Tim!
Tim Mah's Recommended Canadian Jazz Albums of 2024:
This year, the Calgary-based jazz dance company Decidedly Jazz Danceworks is celebrating its 40th anniversary season. This company has had a profound impact on my appreciation of the art forms of jazz music and dance. To recognize this anniversary, I have put together a list (in alphabetical order) of forty of my favourite albums from Canadians, released between December 2023 to November 2024.
It’s not possible to be aware of all of the new releases, in any genre. I am sure that there are many great albums that I didn’t have the opportunity to listen to and are not mentioned on this list, and on any other list. We all have different preferences, biases, and interests.
As the saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder (and the ear and mind of the listener). I encourage readers of this blog to listen to music and experience live performances, as often as you are able. This list is influenced by my experiences of hearing artists perform shows in Calgary over the last few years.
To close, here is a quote from composer and band leader Maria Schneider, on episode 281 of the podcast “The Third Story with Leo Sidran” (November 2024): Jazz is about listening, being vulnerable, taking risks, not coming in with an agenda. Listening to what is happening around you and following it.
The forty 2024 albums I have selected, in alphabetical order, are as follows:
Andres Vial Percussion Ensemble - “Spirit Takes Form”
Andrew Downing - “Utopia Ontario”
Andy Milne & Unison - “Time Will Tell”
Anna Webber - “simpletrio2000”
Ben Wendel - “Understory – Live at the Village Vanguard”
Brenan Brothers - “Valley of Silence”
Bria Skonberg - “What It Means”
Bryn Roberts - “Aloft”
Caity Gyorgy - “Hello! How Are You?”
Carn Davidson 9 - “Reverence”
D. D. Jackson - “Poetry Project”
Dan Fortin - “Cannon”
Dan Pitt Quintet - “Horizontal Depths”
Dun-Dun Band - “Pita Parka, Part One”
Eric Chenaux Trio - “Delights of My Life”
Erin Rogers & Gelsey Bell - “Skylighght”
Francois Houle (with Kate Gentile & Alexander Hawkins) - “Fatrasies”
H ii Regions (Aaron Leaney, Nicolas Caloia, Jahsun) - “H ii Regions”
Jacob Chung - “The Sage”
Jessica Ackerley - “All of the colours are singing”
Jocelyn Gould - “Portrait of Right Now”
Joel Jeschke - “Time & Place”
John Kameel Farah & Nick Fraser - “Farahser”
Jon Gordon - “7th Ave South”
John Lee (with Peter Washington and Kenny Washington) - “Second Wind”
Kris Davis Trio - “Run the Gauntlet”
Laila Biali “Wintersongs”
Lina Allemano’s Ohrenschmaus - “Flip Side”
Montuno West - “Raices”
No Codes - “Usual Suspects”
Parade - “Lullabies After Storms and Floods”
Peggy Lee and Cole Schmidt - “Forever Stories: of Moving Parties”
Raagaverse - “Jaya”
Ratchet Orchestra - “Ratchet Orchestra Alive (Live)”
Sam Wilson - “Wintertides”
Sarah Jerrom - “Magpie”
Steph Richards - “Power Vibe”
Seamus Blake (with Alessandro Lanzoni) - “From Angels”
Teri Parker’s Free Spirits - “Peaks and Valleys”
Tommy Crane - “Dance Music For All Occasions”
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Andres Vial Percussion Ensemble - “Spirit Takes Form”
Dance Kobina
Andrew Downing - “Utopia Ontario”
Tiger Lily
Andy Milne - “Time Will Tell”
Anna Webber - “simpletrio2000”
Slingsh0t
Ben Wendel - “Understory – Live at the Village Vanguard”
On The Trail
Brenan Brothers - "Valley of Silence"
Bria Skonberg - “What It Means”
Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?
Bryn Roberts - “Aloft”
Let’s Agree (That You Agree With Me) - Official Video
Caity Gyorgy - “Hello! How Are You?"
Carn Davidson 9 - “Reverence”
Wonderment
Dan Fortin - “Cannon”
Minty (featuring Karen Ng)
Dan Pitt Quintet - “Horizontal Depths”
Echo Park
D.D. Jackson - “Poetry Project”
A Pavane for Georgie
Dun-Dun Band - “Pita Parka, Pt. 1: Xam Egdub
No.1
Eric Chenaux Trio - “Delights of My Life”
This Ain’t Life
Erin Rogers & Gelsey Bell - “Skyligght”
Echidna Chasm
Francois Houle (with Kate Gentile & Alexander Hawkins) - “Fatrasies”
Guillemette
H ii Regions - “H ii Regions”
Aaron Leaney - tenor saxophone and bells; Nicolas Caloia – bass; Jahsun - drums and percussion
https://hiiregions1.bandcamp.com/album/h-ii-regions
Jacob Chung - “The Sage”
Dim Sum
Jessica Ackerley - “All of the Colours are Singing”
Official Video
Jocelyn Gould - “Portrait of Right Now”
A few years ago, Caity Gyorgy recommended that I listen to Jocelyn Gould’s album “Elegant Traveler.” Since then, I have heard Jocelyn perform in Calgary twice, in support of the albums “Golden Hour” and “Portrait of Right Now.”
Joel Jeschke - “Time & Place”
Koskela
John Kameel Farah and Nick Fraser - “Farahser”
Flatland
John Lee - “Second Wind”
It’s a Blue World
Jon Gordon - “7th Ave South”
Kris Davis Trio - “Run the Gauntlet”
Laila Biali - “Wintersongs”
Rocky Mountain Lullaby
Lina Allemano’s Ohrenschmaus - “Flip Side”
Heartstrings
Montuno West - “Raices”
Montes (recorded live during their album release show at the Yardbird Suite in Edmonton, AB)
No Codes - “Usual Suspects”
The Quest
Parade - “Lullabies After Storms and Floods”
Do You Know Where Your Friends Are Right Now? - Official Music Video
Peggy Lee and Cole Schmidt - “Forever Stories: of Moving Parties”
Blame
Raagaverse - “Jaya”
Saajan - Official Music Video
Ratchet Orchestra - “Ratchet Orchestra Alive”
Extraterrestrial
Sam Wilson - “Wintertides”
(Live at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival)
Sarah Jerrom - “Magpie”
The White Elk
Seamus Blake - “From Angels”
En la Orilla del Mundo (At the Edge of the World)
Steph Richards - “Power Vibe”
Teri Parker’s Free Spirits - “Peaks and Valleys”
Unconditional Love
Tommy Crane - “Dance Music For All Occasions”
Italian Weekend
If you are looking for more suggested listening, here are thirty more album suggestions, listed in alphabetical order:
Allison Au, Jodi Proznick & Mili Hong - “Dunbar Heights”
Anthony Fung - “New World”
BADBADNOTGOOD - “Mid Spiral”
Bea Labikova (with William Parker and Germaine Liu) - “no beginning, no end”
Brett Hansen - “Confluence”
Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra - “Harbour”
Curtis Nowosad & Andrew Renfroe - “Primordial”
Danae Olano Trio - “Children’s Corner”
Erika Angell - “The Obsession With Her Voice”
FYEAR - “FYEAR”
Gabriel Genest - “As It Is”
Gordon Grdina (with Christian Lillinger) - “Duo Work”
Jacques Kuba Seguin - “Parfum no. 2”
Jeremy Ledbetter Trio - “Gravity”
Julien Fillion - “ego”
Lex French - “In the World’s First Summer”
Luka Kuplowsky - “How Can I Possibly Sleep When There is Music”
Luke Sellick - “Discovery”
Kalya Ramu - “Trio”
Kari van der Kloot - “Window”
Michael Sarian - “Live at Cliff Bell’s”
Mike De Masi - “A Moment of Introspection”
Mike Downes - “The Way In”
Neil Swainson - “Here for a While”
Sahara von Hattenberger - “1Q84”
Sean Fyfe - “Stepping Stones”
Simon Denizart - “Piece of Mind”
Stephanie Urquhart Jazz Orchestra - “Fight or Flight”
Ugly Beauties - “Contents May Shift”
Yannick Rieu - “Symbiosis”
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