Recording: Isla Craig

Artist: Isla Craig

Songs: Spirit + Now Westlin Winds [with Andrew Patten & Ivy Mairi] [trad. arr. Dick Gaughan, from a poem by Robert Burns]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Main Hall), November 15, 2022.

Isla Craig - Spirit

Isla Craig with Andrew Patten & Ivy Mairi - Now Westlin Winds

Although there have been some airings-out of the new Echo's Reach material, this definitely felt like a special occasion, with a full band (Mike Smith, bass; Ian Daniel Kehoe, drums; Ted Crosby, sax) as well as vocal support from Vic Cheong and Ivy Mairi. (Plus frequent collaborator Jonathan Adjemian guesting on piano on the set's last track presented here.) In a nod to her roots, there was also a pause in the middle for a folky excursion, with Andrew Patten adding some acoustic guitar.

It seems like yesterday and forever ago that folks last gathered to celebrate an album release by Isla Craig in The Tranzac's big room. That made it felt like an event, one where old circles intersect — with faces you might've once seen at a Healing Power party, or on a beach on the Island. May the spirit be with you.

Recording: Jonathan Adjemian

Artist: Jonathan Adjemian

Song: [solo piano]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Ayal Senior Presents), June 12, 2022

Jonathan Adjemian - [solo piano]

How pleasing to see Jonathan Adjemian out on a Sunday afternoon, playing some piano to soothe babies and other humans. Young Rafi Adjemian (who can be heard adding harmonines at a couple spots in this extract) even sat on papa's lap and collaborated to start things off — for some truly wholesome viewing, I recommend this video document shot by Ayal Senior:

Recording: Hoover Party

Artist: Hoover Party

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at Array Space (Nuit Oliphantik!), June 30, 2019.

Hoover Party - unknown

With a full house of friends and well-wishers, Jonathan Adjemian launched the third volume of his Hoover Party project's Some Liquidity for these Troubled Times, possibly the most ambitious yet in this series, employing "a piano run through electronics and re-amped into the sanctuary of a former church." This set couldn't offer the same impressive spacialization, but used a similar method, with Adjemian manipulating and filtering his piano sounds with his trusty synthesizer. Sometimes those interactions were more prominent and sometimes (as heard here) adding just subtle background drones. The set even ended with a preview of a new path, offering up a song in the piano-and-vocals mode, so keep an eye out for further developments in that direction.

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

Recording: The Cosmic Range

Artist: The Cosmic Range

Songs: The Observers + Let the Sunshine In [from the musical "Hair"]

Recorded at The Garrison, May 3, 2019.

The Cosmic Range - The Observers

The Cosmic Range - Let the Sunshine In

Celebrating the release of The Gratitude Principle, Doc Dunn and The Cosmic Range filled the stage at the Big G with the usual large complement (including Mike Smith providing all the basslines this time 'round on Moog rather than four-string). Moving from spiritual planetarium drift to full-on wah-wah soul funk, the night ended in a familiar place, with a cover that used to show up quite frequently in Isla Craig's solo repertoire.

Recording: The Mike Smith Company

Artist: The Mike Smith Company

Song: This Widowed Hoard

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (All-Set! Editions Double Release Celebration), April 27, 2019.

The Mike Smith Company - This Widowed Hoard

This dual release celebration ran with the double-up concept, putting both bands on stage simultaneously, each taking a couple songs at a time before flipping things over. Mike Smith (on synth and backing vox) was celebrating the long-gestating Songs of The Mike Smith Company alongside Robin Dann (vox), Rebecca Hennessy (trumpet) and Jonathan Adjemian (synth). Popsongs with prog ruffles and little sonic complications throughout, the tunes addressed a number of contemporary problems, from data forms with forced false settings to concerns about "what happens to your record collection when you die", as heard on this number.

Recording: Katie Sketch

Artist: Katie Sketch

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at The Gladstone Hotel's Ballroom (Long Winter, Vol. 7.3), January 4, 2019.

Katie Sketch - unknown

Though she's popped up playing in Vag Halen, it'd been over a decade since I last saw Katie Sketch playing her own material. After a debut at the Basement Revue late last year, this was the second outing for this new five-piece band, sharing a short but elegantly-constructed set of ace stuff. The presence of a new website and instagram account add some momentum to the claims that some long-awaited solo material will officially surface this year.

[Long Winter Vol. 7.5 will be at Workman Arts on Friday, March 29th. Lineup Announcement Coming Soon!]

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

Recording: Matthew "Doc" Dunn & Friends

Artist: Matthew "Doc" Dunn & Friends

Songs: Only Love Can Guide Us Now + Crying Shame [Jennifer Castle cover]

Recorded at The Baby G, December 20, 2018.

Matthew "Doc" Dunn & Friends - Only Love Can Guide Us Now

Matthew "Doc" Dunn & Friends - Crying Shame

A slightly-belated night to celebrate the release of Doc Dunn's Lightbourn album turned out to be a twofer, with the additional appearance of its follow-up Some Horses Run on the merch table. These "solo" albums (as distinguished from the collective grooves he heads with the Cosmic Range) found their songs fleshed out with an all-star band that included Simone T-B on drums, Grasshopper on percussion, James Matthew VII (formerly Blind Matty) on guitar, Andrew Scott on bass, Jonathan Adjemian on keybs as well as special guest backing vocalists Isla Craig and Meg Remy on a few numbers.

That exploded the sometimes-introspective vibe of the recorded versions into a cranked-up push-it-to-the-back-of-the-stadium wall of wailing guitars and pulsing funk, making these versions feel like they'd belong up on the merch table in a gatefold cover double-live album — the kind with just a couple stretched-out songs per side. There's even a tip of the hat here to peer and inspiration Jennifer Castle on a version of "Crying Shame" that tears with such momentum Dunn was pushing hard to keep up with the flow of the lyrical river.

[Doc Dunn and a smaller group of friends will be bringing some joy to the Mechanical Forest Sound 10th Anniversary celebration at The Baby G on Saturday, March 2nd.]

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: Matthew "Doc" Dunn

Artist: Matthew "Doc" Dunn

Songs: Simple One + Blue Moon [Big Star cover]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Main Hall), November 4, 2018.

Matthew "Doc" Dunn - Simple One

Matthew "Doc" Dunn - Blue Moon

Subsequent to this set at its official release show, Matt Dunn would explode his Lightbourn album into full-on rock glory — but here he was still gazing inwards with its songs, and keeping them stripped bare. Even so, this wasn't a "solo" set in the truest sense, as Dunn (with a 12-string acoustic guitar) was joined by Jonathan Adjemian on piano and Derek "Grasshopper" Madison on percussion. Singing his heart out, the set felt rawer than the album's produced takes, and pared-down arrangements (like "Simple One"'s simple piano accompaniment) gave the songs an entirely different feel.

Recording: The Cosmic Range

Artist: The Cosmic Range

Song: The Gratitude Principle

Recorded at Yonge-Dundas Square (Intersection Day 2), September 1, 2018.

The Cosmic Range - The Gratitude Principle

Another interesting day in Yonge-Dundas Square for Intersection, once again excellently curated by Burn Down the Capital's Tad Michalak. Mixing in some abrasive sounds with lots of accessible experimentation, there was a pleasing range of mostly-local talent spread out through the square, animated between sets by the whispersounds of Tina Pearson's installation piece. Capping things off was another bigglyup ensemble, breaking out something like a greatest-grooves set. Convener and head kowboy Doc Dunn was off to the side on organ, while a casual observer might have concluded that sax player Andy Haas — performing with joyful verve centre-stage — was the leader here. Fun stuff and a perfect way to end the day's takeover of that strange ad-bathed concrete space next to the centre of the city's shopping vortex. There is always culture seeping out through the cracks.

Recording: Isla Craig

Artist: Isla Craig

Songs: Faraway Blue + Bold Poachers [traditional, feat. Martha Farquhar-McDonnell]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Main Hall), June 24, 2018.

Isla Craig - Faraway Blue

Isla Craig - Bold Poachers

The release of Isla Craig's The Becoming (on vinyl from Pleasence Records) felt like a worthy occasion for celebration. Perhaps because I'd been watching these songs emerge for several years now it felt especially joyful to witness this culmination and this beginning. Soulful excursions with slick, languid grooves, the tunes were delivered with a stageful of friends and close collaborators, including her band with Evan Cartwright (drums), Bram Gielen (bass) and Johnny Spence (synth) augmented by Jonathan Adjemian (synth) and Vic Cheong (backing vox) throughout. There were also guest turns from Colin Fisher on sax plus a duet with Martha Farquhar-McDonnell — the latter on a Steeleye Span-inspired number linking folksongs of the bygone forest emerald green with the folksongs of the city we're in today.

[Isla Craig will be performing at the second annual Venus Fest, on Saturday, September 22nd at The Opera House alongside Bully, Partner and Vallens.]

Recording: Circuits Bending Frames Ensembles

Artists: Circuits Bending Frames Ensembles (Christine Duncan/Paul Dutton/Laura Swankey + Jonathan Adjemian/Ryan Driver/Tiina Kiik/Laura Swankey + Christine Duncan/John Oswald/SlowPitchSound + Paul Dutton/Tiina Kiik/Wes Neal + Ryan Driver/Jonathan Adjemian/Mani Mazinani/Tiina Kiik/John Oswald)

Songs: [various improvisations]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Main Hall (Somewhere There Creative Music Festival – Show 3: Circuits Bending Frames), February 24, 2018.

Christine Duncan/Paul Dutton/Laura Swankey - [improvisation]

Jonathan Adjemian/Ryan Driver/Tiina Kiik/Laura Swankey - [improvisation]

Christine Duncan/John Oswald/SlowPitchSound - [improvisation]

Paul Dutton/Tiina Kiik/Wes Neal - [improvisation]

Ryan Driver/Jonathan Adjemian/Mani Mazinani/Tiina Kiik/John Oswald - [improvisation]

The Somewhere There Festival's Saturday night show was an ambitious multimedia undertaking, with live performances responding to the films of Laurie Kwasnik. Kwasnik is a familiar face at improvised music shows, especially anything in the orbit of Michael Snow (she's been collecting footage for her documentary Fields of Snow for many years now). It was a treat to get a glimpse into her archives, especially to see some of her artfully-arranged works responding to the music with their own visual improvisations. In between filmed snippets (and some visual mashups mixing together music from a wide range of performances) a group of improvisers recombined into a series of small ensembles for miniature performances.

The second half turned to cymatic visualisations, driven by a trio of synth players (Jonathan Adjemian, Ryan Driver, and Mani Mazinani), whose oscillations set pans of water and salt wiggling — which was then live-mixed on the big screen. There were a few technical difficulties along the way, but it was on the whole a pleasing and unique evening.

Recording: The Cosmic Range

Artist: The Cosmic Range

Song: The Shark (mid-sized version) [excerpt]^*

Recorded at Polish Combatants' Hall SPK (Long Winter 6.2), December 9, 2017.

The Cosmic Range - The Shark (mid-sized version) [excerpt]

I was sad to have missed this year's first Long Winter (at my home base of The Tranzac, no less!) but was pleased to see the series return to the SPK's mirrored bunker for another go-round. Using the downstairs dining room and the upper main hall, there was music back and forth all night — plus the usual mix of comedy, art and Vish Khanna's Long Night talk show. Not quite the petit version and not quite the full-on prowling carnivore, this mid-sized vehicle was still a reliable groove machine, powered by Mike Smith's basslines, embroidered by comandante Doc Dunn (organ), Jonathan Adjemian (synth) and Max Turnbull (guit/keyb) and propelled by the percussive embroidery of Grasshopper, Brandon Valdivia and Kieran Adams.

^* Thanks to a commenter for noting this was a section of "The Shark".

Recording: U.S. Girls

Artist: U.S. Girls

Songs: 28 Days + Mad As Hell

Recorded at The Tranzac (Main Hall), October 27, 2017.

U.S. Girls - 28 Days

U.S. Girls - Mad As Hell

This astounding set teasing new material from the newly-expanded U.S. Girls featured a band composed mostly of Doc Dunn's Cosmic Range (as well as The Sulks' Chris Bezant on guit and backing vocalists Kassie Richardson and Basia Bulat) who offered an astoundingly full "studio" sound. Besides opening and closing with some of the tracks they played on from the forthcoming In a Poem Unlimited album they also reinterpreted a series of older songs. Meg Remy balanced the lushness of the ten-piece backing band with sample montages that hearkened back to the project's origins as well as hinting at the seething anger underneath the songs. But it's too easy to just label this as feminist rage (a word that's right there in the title of the Fiver song covered on the new album) — there's a consideration of things that justly evoke anger, but there's also joy in the music as well, from the reggae-ish lilt the band accorded to "28 Days" as well as the ebullient disco of "Mad As Hell".

Remy was in full command throughout — no banter or asides were on offer in the tightly-constructed set, and instead of an encore, all she gave the crowd was a hand-on-hip "didn't I just do that?" glare before leaving the stage. With the release of the album now confirmed for February, this was a tantalizing glimpse of an artist operating at a high level — and expanding their ambitions to ever-higher plateaus.

Recording: Colin Fisher & Jonathan Adjemian

Artist: Colin Fisher & Jonathan Adjemian

Songs: [excerpt from first section] + [final section]

Recorded at Café Pamenar, August 24, 2017.

Colin Fisher & Jonathan Adjemian - [excerpt from first section]

Colin Fisher & Jonathan Adjemian - [final section]

Colin Fisher spent one part of his summer hosting intimate shows on the beautiful back patio of this Kensington spot, mixing together appearances from his host of ongoing projects with other excursions. Although this pair have shared stages innumerable times in different units, and have jammed together, after conferring back and forth they averred that this was their first formal duo appearance.

Adjemian was on his trusty Korg, while Fisher had brought his regular and microtonal guitars, as well as his sopranino sax, a more recent acquisition. That latter instrument (which can be a bit more difficult to play with as much poise and gravitas as a larger horn with more heft) created some crazy tones when guided through the pedal chain. Adjemian seemed more interested steering toward a more measured pace, and though there were some phat chirps and rubbery ping-sproings, some of the best moments came when Fisher throttled back to drift a little with him.

Recording: The Cosmic Range

Artist: The Cosmic Range

Song: The Shark [excerpt]

Recorded at Prairie Drive Park (Feast in the East 63), July 8, 2017.

The Cosmic Range - The Shark [excerpt]

A return to Prairie Drive Park after last year's initial excursion had another excellent lineup and even better weather. Free food for all gave locals and musical tourists a chance to mingle together and it was a real treat to hear music echoing through the well-used park. Essential city-building work from Toronto Arts Foundation's Arts in the Parks initiative — hopefully this will continue every summer.

The full Cosmic Range complement were out in force, with Matt "Doc" Dunn joined by Isla Craig (vox, percussion), Andy Haas (sax, electronics), Max "Slim Twig" Turnbull (guit), Jonathan Adjemian (synth), Mike Smith (bass), Jay Anderson (drums), Brandon Valdivia (percussion) and Derek and Iggy Madison (percussion). The set was given over to a sprawling new piece called "The Shark", which moved hungrily between mellow groove-simmers and teeth-baring rockouts.

Recording: Jonathan Adjemian

Artist: Jonathan Adjemian

Songs: Turnberry/Redberry + For the Ducks at Smythe

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), April 14, 2017.

Jonathan Adjemian - Turnberry/Redberry

Jonathan Adjemian - For the Ducks at Smythe

In a change of pace from the electronic works of his Hoover Party project, Jonathan Adjemian was celebrating the release of a new album of piano compositions. Modestly titled Adequacies, the pieces feel like small slices of life observed, veering from dense and moody to spare and reflective to walk-in-the-park jaunty.

Recording: Adjemian/Furlong/Hay/Sorbara

Artist: Jonathan Adjemian/Andrew Furlong/Jay Hay/Joe Sorbara

Songs: A Country Mile + X Marks the Spot [composer: Ken Aldcroft]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Music By & For Ken Aldcroft, V), April 12, 2017.

Jonathan Adjemian/Andrew Furlong/Jay Hay/Joe Sorbara - A Country Mile

Jonathan Adjemian/Andrew Furlong/Jay Hay/Joe Sorbara - X Marks the Spot

Bringing the music "by" Ken Aldcroft, this quartet assembled by Joe Sorbara (drums) mixed in Jay Hay (tenor sax, clarinet), Jonathan Adjemian (piano) and Andrew Furlong (double bass). The sounds ranged from the pretty backroad Sunday drive of "Country Mile" to the accelerating clatter of "X Marks the Spot" which was more akin to a car chase. (Looking over the charts before starting, one of the musicians asked, "how fast is it?" and Joe Sorbara simply replied, "fast" as he launched into it.)

[Stay tuned for more music by and for Ken Aldcroft on the second-Wednesday-of-the-month — the next one up will be June 14th.]

Recording: Buligan/Adjemian/Fava

Artist: Nicolas Buligan/Jonathan Adjemian/Matthew Fava

Songs: Burdocks, Part VI [composer: Christian Wolff] + In Memoriam Robert Ashley [composer: Allison Cameron]

Recorded at Canadian Music Centre (Composer's Toolbox: Contemporary Compositional Resources), March 16, 2017.

Buligan/Adjemian/Fava - Burdocks, Part VI

Buligan/Adjemian/Fava - In Memoriam Robert Ashley

This very tasty event at the CMC presented Allison Cameron in conversation, discussing a range of possibilities in the field of composition — especially around the use of non-traditional notation. Looking across a variety of traditions (from Korean courtly music to European modernism), Cameron considered a musical score as "a mystery that can only be realized in performance" and examined how giving up the composer's strict control can open and give life to a piece. Her points were re-examined in a short performance segment, with this "pickup band" (consisting of Nicolas Buligan on trumpet, Jonathan Adjemian on synth, and Matthew Fava on violin) tackling a few graphic scores.

Recording: The Mike Smith Company

Artist: The Mike Smith Company

Song: Terms Of Venery

Recorded at The Tranzac's Main Hall (Somewhere There Creative Music Festival – Show 5), February 26, 2017.

The Mike Smith Company - Terms Of Venery

After a couple special events, this set saw the Mike Smith Co. back in its "working" alignment, mostly playing skewed pop material that's newer than the stuff on last year's Famous Wildlife Movies and with plenty elaborately-layered vocals over the band's precision noodling.