Recording: Potions & Strings

Artist: Potions & Strings

Songs: Quadrophonia + Aidan's String Quartet^* + Song for the World 2

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), May 6, 2026.

Potions & Strings - Quadrophonia

Potions & Strings - Aidan's String Quartet

Potions & Strings - Song for the World 2

Having tracked these things for awhile, my inner amateur ethnomusicologist is always curious to see certain patterns of collaboration re-emerge over time. The musical scenes I like to be in are collegial by nature, and Toronto's social/material circumstances seem to lead to parallel evolutions of musical/social agglomerations: sometimes it takes the form of a damn big band, just blasting out music together; sometimes, in the joyful romp of the groovy biglyup; and again and again as a joining-together of the song-playing folkies with the improvisers. The latter had its classic nexus in the emergence of Rock Plaza Central, birthed from the Tranzac's Southern Cross, as well as in groups like the amazing Sea Snakes, who sound like Potions' most direct local forebearers. (There's also the closely-related case of chamber-pop groups absorbing their friends in ever-growing string and horn sections.)

None of which is meant to detract from Potions' trajectory and amazing work in the here-and-now. Having issued an essential EP earlier this year, this set saw them showing off some songs that will presumably be on their forthcoming album, showing off a winning mix of off-the-cuffness and deep chops. The core quartet is Steven Noronha, Ben Rositsan, Josh Sparks, and Aidan McConnell (all busy around town in various other capacities), passing around instruments and vocal parts — and joined here by a string quartet of Sara May, Aline Homzy, Jill Sauertag, and Clara Nguyen-Tran. My understanding is that all of the members contributed arrangements for the songs (as well as the interstitial string miniatures) and everything sounded naturally integrated. It's rare to witness a standing ovation in the Southern Cross, but the packed crowd on hand knew they were seeing something special — there's the sense that, just at this particular moment, this band could do incredible things and be bound for much larger stages.

My camera angle wasn't the best — apologies to Josh and Aline! — but you can check out some more from this set over on youtube:

^* To be updated once an actual title comes to light!

Recording: Homzy/Storring/Oswald/Kurtz/Cole

Artist: Aline Homzy/Nick Storring/John Oswald/Owen Kurtz/Josh Cole

Song: [1st set excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Josh Cole presents: new works for improvising musicians), March 14, 2026.

Aline Homzy/Nick Storring/John Oswald/Owen Kurtz/Josh Cole - [1st set excerpt]

The current cycle of Josh Cole's Tranzac residency is entitled "new works for improvising musicians", and this first outing was a variation on the "trio plus strings" format, keeping string players Nick Storring (cello) and Aline Homzy (violin) as well as saxophonist John Oswald, while adding Owen Kurtz's electronic manipulations in the wildcard slot. (He was definitely showing off his skills in using his Kaoss Pad as an instrument in this encounter.) With the strings sawing and tapping, the players have done this together enough to have a strong sense of when evryone else was about to flip from chaotic rambling to imploding drones, leading to some really satisfying dynamics.

You can check out some more from this set over on youtube:

[New works for improvising musicians is back at The Tranzac tomorrow (Monday, May 11th), presenting Nick Fraser’s Special Topics.]

Recording: Gill/Homzy/Ng/Pitt/Riselli

Artist: Tania Gill/Aline Homzy/Karen Ng/Brittany Pitt/Mira Riselli

Songs: Blue Nile [composer: Alice Coltraine] + Lament [composer: Mira Riselli]

Recorded at Sellers & Newel (International Women's Day), March 8, 2026.

Tania Gill/Aline Homzy/Karen Ng/Brittany Pitt/Mira Riselli - Blue Nile

Tania Gill/Aline Homzy/Karen Ng/Brittany Pitt/Mira Riselli - Lament

This special IWD quintet was convened, I am given to understand, by saxophonist Brittany Pitt and saw her joined by Tania Gill (piano), Aline Homzy (violin), Karen Ng (alto sax), and Mira Riselli (double bass). No mere blowing session, this was a chance to hear some ad hoc arrangements of pieces by all the players, as well as works by Alice Coletrane and Carla Bley.

[I, myself, have been remiss in not hitherto taking in any of the fine shows put on at Sellers & Newel. Many of the this blog's faves are doing cozy gigs in the space and you should attend some! Keep an eye on their list of shows, or sign up for their email list.]

Recording: Aline's étoile magique

Artist: Aline's étoile magique

Song: Blue Ghost Firefly

Recorded at Toronto Jazz Fest — Village Stage, June 24, 2024.

Aline's étoile magique - Blue Ghost Firefly

I'm not, admittedly, usually bowled over by the offerings at the local Corporate Jazz Fest, but generally speaking they do manage to spotlight some corners of cool local talent every year. (This set, in fact, was a re-booking of a cancelled set from last year, when forest fire smoke was choking the city, so kudos to the festival for making good with the artists.) In any case, it was absoloutely delightful to take in some sounds in Village of Yorkville Park, with shady trees overhead and the occasional rumble of the subway underfoot.

The generous set from violinist Aline Homzy's group mixed album tracks with newer material (including some pieces that have had their debuts at Homzy's Ghostgirl residency at The Tranzac) as well as reinterpreting works from composers like Carla Bley and Fats Waller. The sound on-site was unexpectedly excellently rendered, giving clarity to the group's sounds as well as solo spots from Michael Davidson (vibes), Marito Marques (drums), Dan Fortin (bass), and Thom Gill (guitar).

You can check out some more from this set over on youtube:

Recording: Eucalyptus

Artist: Eucalyptus

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at The Tranzac's Main Hall (Tranzac Fundraiser II), June 14, 2024.

Eucalyptus - unknown

This set brought a different "look" from Eucalyptus than had been seen in their previous appearance in the Tranzac's Main Hall. Part of that was down to the presence of a couple last-minute fill-ins (Chris Banks on bass and Robin Buckley on percussion), but the biggest shift was hearing Aline Homzy on violin up front, occupying the role of foil and counterpart to Brodie West that has traditionally been filled by Nicole Rampersaud. The difference in timbre was felt in an accentuation of glide over thrust, which especially added an extra sheen of subtle shimmy to the slower numbers like this one.

^* Does anyone know the title to this one? Please leave a comment!

Recording: Aline Homzy & Co.

Artist: Aline Homzy & Co.

Songs: Sister Mary-Ellen + Weird Nightmare [composer: Charles Mingus]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Ghostgirl residency), June 11, 2024.

Aline Homzy & Co. - Sister Mary-Ellen

Aline Homzy & Co. - Weird Nightmare

The second instalment of Aline Homzy's Ghostgirl residency saw her joined again by Michael Davidson on vibes, as well as Julian Anderson-Bowes on double bass and Aidan McConnell on drums. Once more there was a mix of spectral stories and songs — though the first one here is not a ghost story, but rather a fond remembrance of a former neighbour, while the on-point latter selection was also a spotlight for Anderson-Bowes.

[The Ghostgirl residency continues in the Southern Cross on Tuesday, July 9th, this time with Aline Homzy joined by Devon Henderson, Aidan McConnell, Michael Davidson and Steven Noronha.]

Recording: Homzy/Mackie/Davidson

Artist: Aline Homzy/Allan Mackie/Michael Davidson

Songs: Ghosts [composer: Albert Ayler] + Hanakotoba^*

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Ghostgirl residency), May 14, 2024.

Aline Homzy/Allan Mackie/Michael Davidson - Ghosts

Aline Homzy/Allan Mackie/Michael Davidson - Hanakotoba

Although staying busy with her étoile magique ensemble, violinist Aline Homzy is making time for other musical investigations, including this newly-launched Tranzac residency. The goal here is to not only stretch out as a writer and storyteller — a pair of ghost stories were shared in this set — but also to investigate the many ways that ghost stories and spirits intersect with music. Homzy's gusto suggests that there's a lot of material to be investigated in the months ahead.

[Ghostgirl will be back at the Tranzac next Tuesday (June 11th), while Etoile Magique will be at Hirut Café on Friday, June 21st.]

^* Do note that this is a different composition — albeit with the same title — as the piece on Homzy's étoile magique album.

Recording: A Josh Cole Trio + Strings feat. John Oswald

Artist: A Josh Cole Trio + Strings feat. John Oswald

Song: [set 2 excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), March 29, 2023.

A Josh Cole Trio + Strings feat. John Oswald - [set 2 excerpt]

Bassist Jash Cole has been experimenting lately with bringing in a miniature string section (here Nick Storring on cello and Aline Homzy on violin) to augment his ensembles. (The other components of the trio in this case were regular percussionist Blake Howard and special guest saxophonist John Oswald.) Moving from zones of quietude to shaking clatter, there were intruiging destabilizations all around here, held together as always with Cole in the calm centre.

Recording: Mad's Happy Music

Artist: Mad's Happy Music

Songs: Plan D + Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder) [Beach Boys cover]

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #74), December 6, 2022.

Mad's Happy Music - Plan D

Mad's Happy Music - Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)

I've seen trumpeter Madeleine Ertel enlisted for quite a few noteworthy local ensembles and was pleasantly surprised to see her also enjoying a sideline in piano pop, so when offered a chance to bring something to TCB I was happy to see her vision combining those threads. Emerging as something of a chamber pop ensemble, this group (with Aline Homzy on violin, Beth Silver on cello, and Alexa Belgrave on keys) played some of Ertel's instumental pieces, but also incorporated her singing as well. Covering Brian Wilson and Antônio Carlos Jobim gives a sense of her ambitions, and her arrangements of self-penned material like "Giving Up Again", which offered some Bacharach vibes, shows she's willing to take on the challenge. Hopefully we'll get more chances to hear further developments in this vein.

You an check out some video from this set over on the TCB youtube playlist:

[Track Could Bend is back at Wenona tonight (January 3rd) with music from Alex Ven's Ambient Works (featuring Andrew Noseworthy/Alex Ven/Yang Chen/Zain Solinski/Adrian Irvine) and Chapped Lips (Annie Elgie/Patrick O'Reilly/PT Sandberg)]

Recording: Naomi McCarroll-Butler

Artist: Naomi McCarroll-Butler

Songs: Chrysalis [two sections]^*

Recorded at Toronto Jazz Festival, [corporate brand name] Main Stage – [corporate brand name] Grove, July 2, 2022.

Naomi McCarroll-Butler - Chrysalis [section 4]

Naomi McCarroll-Butler - Chrysalis [section 10]

The local jazz festival doesn't tend to get a tonne of favourable glances from this direction, but they should be praised when they do something cool and ambitious. Named as the inaugural "Jazz Festival Immersive Artist-in-Residence", Naomi McCarroll-Butler was given some resources to put together a programme of new work to present at the festival, which emerged as Chrysalis, "a project born out of my first years of transitioning: songs of hope for holding on, cries of joy and grief for the love of a suffering community, trance tapestries of woven sound accompanying the alignment of the physical body with the luminant body."

This live presentation (played in the pleasant Festival zone in the Victoria College quad) saw McCarroll-Butler backed by a dozen musicians, segueing from spiritual jazz blastoffs to modern compositional latticeworks — and including some sounds on DIY microtonal pipes along the way, as well as plenty individual spotlights for the members of the group. The band sounded lush and lively (despite playing with a fairly minimal soundcheck) and one can hope that this music gets a chance to live on beyond this performance.

The ensemble at this show was:

• Anh Phung: flutes
• Kae Murphy: trumpet, sousaphone
• Nebyu Yohannes: trombone
• Colin Fisher: tenor saxophone, drums
• Naomi McCarroll-Butler: alto saxophone, bass clarinet
• Aysel Taghi-Zada: violin
• Aline Homzy: violin
• Amahl Arulanandam: cello
• Adrian Russouw: double bass
• Roa Lee: gayageum
• Yang Chen: percussion, tubulum
• Racha Moukalled: piano
• Stefan Hegerat: drums, percussion

^* I'm not sure if the individual pieces within the suite have separate titles or noy; please leave a comment if you have info!

Bumping into... Aline Homzy

Bumping Into... is a series of mini-chats with a variety of peeps that you might run into in some of our local music communities. (There's a bit of an intro and my thoughts behind the series here.)

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How are you? Where are you?

Howdy! Thanks for asking. I am feeling cheerful yet fatigued. It’s really nice to bump into you in Nanaimo, Joe! The trees and plants are gleaming with life here as the clouds drop water onto us daily.

What have you been up to since March or so?

The top things I have been doing since March:

Putting my trail cam all over toronto. In search for good spots to set the camera, I happened upon families of foxes by the Etobicoke river, a coyote up near the Humber river... and so many beautiful birds. Captured lots of them on the camera as well and so many deer, mice and rats!

I’m really hoping to get some footage of some city cougars around here and maybe a bear (really pining to see a wolf but they are coastal in these parts).

I found lots of joy in walking and working out with my mom. We used the free YMCA workouts and had fun doing them together (though separated on a screen). Now that I’m momentarily living with my parents, we spend most of our active time walking outside.

Working on new music has been really quite strange. Bursts of melodies enter my mind and I sit writing them out... and a couple hours later, I have a string quartet piece finished and done. On the other hand, there are projects I want to complete (from before-pandemic times) that I can’t seem to get to. I’m learning a lot.

I’ve been doing lots of great projects for other people, at the studio at my parents here in Nanaimo, and working on all of this music brings on a sense of normalcy.

Have you found any new ways to do old things? How are you feeling about the shifts in how music is being made/shared/listened to?

I think about it daily. I have projects that were particularly meaningful and meticulously thought-out, from before the pandemic. I’m having a hard time letting go of the fact that they cannot be accomplished in the way that I had planned. On the other hand, I am thrilled to still be able to work creatively on other projects. I am really finding a lot of positivity from working on my own and creating music with and for others.

Any works of art that have been a light for you in these times? Anything that's just been a good diversion?

Since I’m with my dad quite regularly these days, we’ve been discussing and watching lots on the early days of jazz. I am working as a board member for the Nanaimo jazz festival here, which my dad started a few years ago. The point of the festival is to support the local community. We’re working now on a virtual festival that is supporting a micro community from the Comox valley to the Cowichan valley. We are celebrating the music of Canadians and specifically, we are highlighting the music of Canadian composer Shelton Brooks who was quite active in the first third of the 20th century.

How are you feeling about 2021?

We have all adapted so creatively and quickly to this new way of life. I’m anticipating that I will hold on to some of the new habits I have developed. I’m extremely lucky that none of my family or close friends have been terribly affected by Covid, health-wise and that I have had extreme privilege in this time to keep working so much and to take time to think of what my personal priorities are in ... life.

Anything else we'd chat about if we bumped into each other?

I would certainly like to know what you have been listening to and what you have been thinking about. I’m wondering, Joe if you’ve seen any good movies or eaten any interesting food lately? Oh! Also... Are you into politics?

Recording: JP Carter & Friends

Artist: JP Carter & Friends

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #60), March 3, 2020.

JP Carter & Friends - [excerpt]

With a night off from Destroyer's tour (where he was once more a part of Dan Bejar's backing band), Vancouver's JP Carter was looking for a local improvised music gig. He got in touch with drummer Joe Sorbara (himself still relatively recently-returned from the West Coast) who put together this group, which also included Aline Homzy (violin) and Ashley Urquhart (piano). Although Carter is often heard extending his trumpet sounds with electronics, this was an all-acoustic session, working up to some pleasing scrape/skronk — and, briefly, towards the end, even some double trumpet action from Carter.

[Track Could Bend's previously-planned fifth anniversary celebration will obviously not be happening. Keep an eye out at the series' FB page for news of things re-emerging when the gathering-together status has changed.]

Recording: Mika Posen String Quartet

Artist: Mika Posen String Quartet

Song: Pathways [excerpt]

Recorded at Highway 407 Station (Intersection Day 1: Music For Subways), August 29, 2019.

Mika Posen String Quartet - Pathways [excerpt]

A couple years back, Intersection made its first step into presenting creative sounds in unconventional environments. This sequel moved from the core to the end of the line, exchanging a jam-packed greenhouse for plenty elbow room in the city's newest subway stations. Mika Posen (playing viola and joined by Aline Homzy and Jessica Hana Deutsch on violin and Beth Silver on cello) brought the most on-point and musically-pleasing of the night's sets to Highway 407 Station, whose very name evokes a sort of grim, romanceless utilitarianism — and where the click-clack of the fare gate behind the audience added small waves of percussion as each arriving trainload of passengers departed the station.

Her "Pathways" uses a graphic score in the shape of the subway map, the various stations marked with one of five different colours. The musicians pick their own starting station on the map and play the associated musical instruction, coming to a common held note when a train pulls in to the platform below the players and each then moving on to the next station on their score when the train departs. As such, the piece will never quite unfold the same way twice, although the various parts of the score are designed to stay in pleasing consonance in any combination.

[Mika Posen's electronic project Merganzer will be celebrating the release of its new Montage album at a Venus fest-presented show at The Drake Hotel on Saturday, October 26th, alongside Leucrocuta and Blue Light.]

Recording: Go:Organic

Artist: Go:Organic

Song: Dastgah [2nd set excerpt, in two parts]

Recorded at The Music Gallery @ 918 Bathurst, November 17, 2018.

Go:Organic - Dastgah [2nd set excerpt, part 1]

Go:Organic - Dastgah [2nd set excerpt, part 2]

The local manifestation of Adam Rudolph's portable improvising big-band concept a couple years back apparently made a lasting impression on the musicians, especially local tar player Araz Salek, who wondered how it would work to apply Rudolph's m.o. to the modal frameworks of Persian music. The end result of their considerations on the topic was this local remounting, with some adaptations to Rudolph's open-ended scores and a cadre of top-notch local players from Persian traditions in the ensemble. Elaborate preparations not only included what I've heard were some intense rehearsals, but also having the piano specially retuned for the Persian modal scale.

As with the previous organic encounter with Rudoph, the project's biggest achievement remains finding ways to co-ordinate all these musicians while still leaving room for their individual voices to be heard. From designated solos to call-and-response cues to arranged cells, there was a thrilling sense of movement through two sets.

The musicians this time around were:

• Santour: Sadaf Amini
• Kamanche: Hamidreza Khalatbari
• Tar: Araz Salek
• Tuned Piano: Jonathan Adjemian
• Ney: Ernie Tollar
• Violin: Aline Homzy
• Violin: Nelson Moneo
• Double bass: Rob Clutton
• Clarinet: Karen Ng
• Trumpet: Emily Denison
• Bassoon: Peter Lutek
• Saxophone: Jay Hay
• Tombak: Pedram Khavarzamini
• Congas: Ruben Esguerra
• Drums: Nick Fraser

Recording: The Andrew Downing Ensemble

Artist: The Andrew Downing Ensemble

Songs: All Alone on the Mountain + I'm No Good Without You

Recorded at the Canadian Music Centre, November 9, 2017.

The Andrew Downing Ensemble - All Alone on the Mountain

The Andrew Downing Ensemble - I'm No Good Without You

The living room-sized performance space at Chalmers House was an ideal spot to sit back and listen to the tunes from Andrew Downing's Otterville recording. Enhanced by video projections by graphic designer Yesim Tosuner and storytelling from John Southworth, the group (featuring Andrew Downing, Michael Davidson, Tara Davidson, Nick Fraser, Aline Homzy, and Paul Mathew) explored the nostalgic lushness of Downing's compositions, inspired by the almost-too-good-to-be-a-real-town-name of Otterville. Like a lot of Canadian small towns, there's a lot of niceness and well-organized politeness on the surface, but manifold layers underneath. The music was oft at its best when it drifted into lullaby dreamworlds and Ellingtonian reveries.

Recording: The Lady Hedonism Consort of Toronto

Artist: The Lady Hedonism Consort of Toronto

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at Array Space (Audiopollination #42.2), May 22, 2016.

The Lady Hedonism Consort of Toronto - [excerpt 1]

The Lady Hedonism Consort of Toronto - [excerpt 2, part 1]

The Lady Hedonism Consort of Toronto - [excerpt 2, part 2]

This large improvising ensemble was convened by Nilan Perera, who added some electric bass to an opening drone section but otherwise primarily conducted. Using some basic hand signs (and occasional vocal instruction) he built up series of loops and competing riffs that tended more toward sympathetic juxtapositions rather than abrasiveness. The members of the ensemble were: Heather Saumer, Bea Labikova, Alexandra Spence, Laura Swankey, Ilana Waniuk, Laura Bates, Aline Homzy and Sanaz Nakhjavani.

Recording: Spectrum

Artist: Spectrum Music [Homzy/Kesler Duo feat. Felicity Williams and Alex Samaras]

Song: The Seafarers [excerpt] (Composer: Shannon Graham)

Recorded at The Annex Theatre ("Atlas of Imaginary Places"), January 24, 2014.

Spectrum Music - The Seafarers [excerpt]

Full review to follow. Rather than just throwing some pieces together and calling it a concert, Spectrum does an admirable job of shaping their events around thoughtful concepts, and then composing new pieces to bring them to life. Their "Atlas of Imaginary Places" began as an opportunity to give violist Aline Homzy and pianist Andrew Kesler a chance to debut their expansive "Dragon Suite" (thirty minutes, played without sheet music!) and from there the Spectrum composers crafted some new pieces for the duo to play. They were joined throughout the evening by Felicity Williams and Alex Samaras, two of the most amazing voices in town.

This piece by Shannon Graham is inspired by the board game Settlers of Catan, and standing on the balconies above the room, the vocalists act as the capricious Fates manipulating the efforts of those in the world below. Like a lot of Graham's compositions, it evinces a guardedly cautious sort of optimism, hopeful (but never quite convinced) that we will be able to complete our journeys.

It should be added that the Annex Theatre (where I'd never been before) was a definite selling point here — a large space, yet close in enough to be rather cozy, it felt like the ballroom of a haunted mansion, from the ornate stairways behind the stage to the giant chandeliers to the occasional mysterious creaking noise in the background. You can check it out for yourself on April 17th, when Spectrum wraps up its season with Early Expressions, which promises "contemporary musical interpretations of early human art".