Recording: Furlong/Gee/McEachern/Riddel

Artist: Andrew Furlong/Solon Gee/Maxwell McEachern/David Riddel

Song: East of Baghdad [composer: Ken Aldcroft]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Music By & For Ken Aldcroft XXVIII), April 10, 2019.

Andrew Furlong/Solon Gee/Maxwell McEachern/David Riddel - East of Baghdad

This electric string band (three guitars and bass) made some savvy selections into the deeper recesses of the Ken Aldcroft songbook, following up "Country Mile" (one of the emerging "standards" of the series) with a dip into some Alaniaris as heard here, as well as essaying the less-frequently-tackled Threads material and closing with the co-ordinated clatter of a Trolley ride.

[Music By & For Ken Aldcroft will be back at The Tranzac tonight (Wednesday, June 12th), with sets from BLOOP (Lina Allemano & Mike Smith) and Patrick O'Reilly & Friends (David Benitez, Cassie Norton, Patrick O'Reilly and Edwin Shepard).]

Recording: Patrick Smith & Max Donaldson

Artist: Patrick Smith & Max Donaldson

Song: [second piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Music By & For Ken Aldcroft XXVIII), April 10, 2019.

Patrick Smith & Max Donaldson - [second piece]

Pianist Max Donaldson continues to impress, but saxophonist Patrick Smith stole the show here, unveiling some cool moves on EWI, starting off electronically shrill but moving into some deliciously glissglorpy sounds.

[Music By & For Ken Aldcroft will be back at The Tranzac tonight (Wednesday, June 12th), with sets from BLOOP (Lina Allemano & Mike Smith) and Patrick O'Reilly & Friends (David Benitez, Cassie Norton, Patrick O'Reilly and Edwin Shepard). Max Donaldson and Patrick Smith will be playing together in a quintet lead by Donaldson (and including Kaelin Murphy, Caleb Klager, and Robert Diack) Friday (June 14th) at The Emmet Ray.]

Recording: Laura Swankey & Friends

Artist: Laura Swankey & Friends - [first section, part 1]

Songs: [first section, in two parts]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Music By & For Ken Aldcroft XXV), January 9, 2018.

Laura Swankey & Friends - [first section, part 1]

Laura Swankey & Friends - [first section, part 2]

What's in a name? The subsequent time I saw this trio, who have been playing together for a while now, they were called Plastic Babies. In any case, excellent work all around from Laura Swankey (vocals and pedals), Christine Duncan (voice and theremin) and Patrick O'Reilly (guitar and pedals). By mid-set, things would work up into the joyfully-frenzied sort of coffee break banter as personal opera that Duncan excels at, but here we find a more restrained soundfield calling itself into being, with some really tasty blips from Duncan's theremin chirping away in the mix.

Recording: Irene Harrett

Artist: Irene Harrett

Song: Tennessee Waltz [composer: Pee Wee King]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Music By & For Ken Aldcroft XXV), January 9, 2018.

Irene Harrett - Tennessee Waltz

A rather satisfying musical introduction to double bassist Irene Harett, here taking a familiar country refrain into abstract zones via some skilful pedal manipulations. As we have seen several times recently in this series, Harrett described another path taken towards discovering the work of Kan Aldcroft, in being inspired indirectly through some of the younger musicians who were playing with him.

Recording: Andrew Kay

Artist: Andrew Kay

Song: [first piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Music By & For Ken Aldcroft XXIV), December 12, 2018.

Andrew Kay - [first piece]

Saxophonist Andrew Kay had previously played this series with some music by Ken Aldcroft, but this time brought some solo and duo improvisations in his memory. Alternating between alto, clarinet and bass clarinet, there were some different textures and moods explored here, especially when Jake Parker Scott (now based in Oakland) joined in on alto, a touch of piano and some genteel impromptu percussion.

[Music By & For Ken Aldcroft will be back at The Tranzac on Wednesday, February 13th.]

Recording: Patrick O'Reilly + Heraclitus Akimbo

Artist: Patrick O'Reilly + Heraclitus Akimbo

Song: Gospel [composer: Ken Aldcroft]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Music By & For Ken Aldcroft XXIV), December 12, 2018.

Patrick O'Reilly + Heraclitus Akimbo - Gospel

This set saw guitarist Patrick O'Reilly playing some of Ken Aldcroft's pieces, but without his usual panoply of effects pedals. Instead, that sonic manipulation was handled by an external agent, adding some unstable twists to the proceedings. I must confess I pitched the concept for to this one, both of out an ongoing recent interest in manipulating other people's sounds, as well as having a chance at digging into Aldcroft's actual songs in a way I wouldn't be able to do on my own. Although he wouldn't've made these sorts of manipulations, Aldcroft was a dab hand with the few effects he did use, and there's some serious scholarship yet to be done on, say, his deft use of looping, especially in his solo guitar work.

You can also stream the full set if you like:

[Music By & For Ken Aldcroft will be back at The Tranzac on Wednesday, February 13th. Heraclitus Akimbo will be celebrating the release of a new solo album at the Tranzac on Wednesday, February 20th.]

Recording: Furlong/Gee/Argatoff/Zurawinski

Artist: Andrew Furlong/Solon Gee/Harrison Argatoff/Mark Zurawinski

Song: O'nette [composer: Ken Aldcroft]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Music By & For Ken Aldcroft XXII), October 10, 2018.

Andrew Furlong/Solon Gee/Harrison Argatoff/Mark Zurawinski - O'nette

Bringing some "music by" Ken Aldcroft to the night, this quartet not only pushed into some different corners of the K.A. songbook (tackling the seldom-heard "In The Kitchen", for example) but also essayed tunes from some Aldcroft-adjacent composers, such as John Coltrane and Emily Denison. There was birthday cake, and it wasn't even anyone's birthday.

[Music By & For Ken Aldcroft will be back in the Southern Cross on Tuesday, December 12th, 2018.]

Recording: Steve Sladkowski & Andrew Zukerman

Artist: Steve Sladkowski & Andrew Zukerman

Song: [edited excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Music By & For Ken Aldcroft XXII), October 10, 2018.

Steve Sladkowski & Andrew Zukerman - [edited excerpt]

Reuniting old friends (whose current musical practices have, shall we say, diverged) this set also brought back another one of Ken Aldcroft's former guitar students to show how his instruction continues to influence their skills and musical imagination. Incorporating some enforced silences, electronic textures and electroacoustic knocks, this set settled into a pleasingly-atmospheric zone.

[Andrew Zukerman, in his Fleshtone Aura guise, will be opening things up at the historic Titillators' Cassette Release Celebration, tonight (November 20th) at Wenona Lodge. Music By & For Ken Aldcroft will be back in the Southern Cross on Tuesday, December 12th, 2018.]

Recording: Baby Labour

Artist: Baby Labour

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Music By & For Ken Aldcroft XXI), September 12, 2018.

Baby Labour - unknown

One of the more powerful strands of this series is seeing some of Ken Aldcroft's former students come back and share the inspiration and musical passion they learned alongside a bevy of technical skills. Dan Loughrin's guitar work in this math-y, instrumental Guelph based trio might not draw much from Aldcroft's style, but the mix of tightly-composed pieces played with joyful, spatter-y abandon was right on the mark.

[Baby Labour will be back in town for Feast In The East 71 (Saturday, November 3rd at Matt Durant Studio), celebrating Luge's new album alongside Retired and Deep Waters.]

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

Recording: Harrison Vetro & Friends

Artist: Harrison Vetro & Friends

Song: [sections 2 + 3]^*

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Music By & For Ken Aldcroft XXI), September 12, 2018.

Harrison Vetro & Friends - [sections 2 + 3]

The first half of this night of music for Ken Aldcroft brought some carefully-crafted sounds from drummer Harry Vetro alongside Kaelin Murphy (trumpet) and Dan Pitt (guitar). With some nice give-and-take all around, there were moments of quiet introspection pushing outward seamlessly into louder abstractions.

^* I'm not sure if these are a couple smaller pieces, or two parts of a larger suite. If you know that and/or the titles, please leave a comment!

Recording: Alaniaris with Alexei Orechin

Artist: Alaniaris with Alexei Orechin

Song: No Sengah

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Music By & For Ken Aldcroft XVI), April 11, 2018.

Alaniaris with Alexei Orechin - No Sengah

Alaniaris, which had been one of Ken Aldcroft's longstanding bands, made its return to this memorial series with guitarist Alexei Orechin sitting in alongside bassist Michael Kaler and drummer Mark Zurawinski. Orechin handled the tricky rebetiko rhythms with aplomb, managing to inject a bit of his own nimble style into the process.

[Alaniaris and Alaniaris-adjacent music can be heard at The Tranzac on the afternoon of the third Sunday of the month.]

Recording: Liu/Swankey/Van der Voort

Artist: Germaine Liu, Laura Swankey & Lieke Van der Voort

Songs: [two excerpts from second piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Music By & For Ken Aldcroft XVI), April 11, 2018.

Germaine Liu, Laura Swankey & Lieke Van der Voort - [second piece, excerpt 1]

Germaine Liu, Laura Swankey & Lieke Van der Voort - [second piece, excerpt 2]

This evening started with music "for" Ken Aldcroft, with some eyes-closed improvisations from percussionist Germaine Liu and vocalists Laura Swankey and Lieke Van der Voort. Ranging from hymnlike calm to bottle-crushing creaks, the trio seemed to follow an open-ended prescription intoned by Swankey at the end of one piece: "always / leave a / window open".

[Laura Swankey will be performing with improvising trio Jazz Bras Dot Com at a TONE festival show at the Jam Factory on Tuesday, June 19th alongside Oren Ambarchi & Will Guthrie and Retired. Germaine Liu will also be bringing an improvising trio to TONE, as c_RL opens for Anthony Coleman at Array Space on Friday, June 8th.]

Recording: Furlong-Kay-Sorbara

Artist: Andrew Furlong/Andrew Kay/Joe Sorbara

Song: X Marks The Spot [composer: Ken Aldcroft]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Music by & for Ken Aldcroft VIII), August 9, 2017.

Andrew Furlong/Andrew Kay/Joe Sorbara - X Marks The Spot

This combo, with curator Joe Sorbara on drums joined by Andrew Furlong on double bass and Andrew Kay on saxophone, tackled some of Ken Aldcroft's compositions (and a couple others) with a jazz trio approach. It worked especially well with the sneaky/snaky stop/start rhythms of this piece.

[Music By & For Ken Aldcroft will return to The Tranzac next week (September 13th).]

Recording: Allison Cameron & Glen Hall

Artist: Allison Cameron & Glen Hall

Songs: [first piece] / [excerpt from second piece] / [fifth piece, with Joe Sorbara]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Music by & for Ken Aldcroft VIII), August 9, 2017.

Allison Cameron & Glen Hall - [first piece]

Allison Cameron & Glen Hall - [excerpt from second piece]

Allison Cameron/Glen Hall/Joe Sorbara - [fifth piece]

Playing some improvisations inspired by Ken Aldcroft, this pair brought some different sounds, from the banjo and spiky sound manipulations on the first track here to the organ tones and sax on the second. To close the set, Joe Sorbara sat in on drums for a couple pieces, adding a taste of abstract groove, plus some meta-commentary near the top.

[Music By & For Ken Aldcroft will return to The Tranzac next week (September 13th).]

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: Heather Saumer + Doug Tielli

Artist: Heather Saumer + Doug Tielli

Songs: [two pieces]

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

Heather Saumer + Doug Tielli - [third piece]

Heather Saumer + Doug Tielli - [fourth piece]

This set of improvisations had some more reflective moments, such as the drone-y first selection here, but hewed mostly to the playful side, with two trombones jockeying for position and sputtering back and forth — the pieces sometimes ending with one of the musicians breaking into laughter.

[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: Clark/Kenemy/Cole/Fisher

Artist: Dave Clark/Jason Kenemy/Josh Cole/Colin Fisher

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Music By & For Ken Aldcroft, III), February 8, 2017.

Clark/Kenemy/Cole/Fisher - [excerpt 1]

Clark/Kenemy/Cole/Fisher - [excerpt 2]

This set at the monthly "Music By & For Ken Aldcroft" residency had a last-minute fill in with Jason Kenemy taking on piano duties. Alongside drummer Dave Clark he served as the engine getting the music revved up. Josh Cole (double bass) and Colin Fisher (tenor sax), in contrast, worked more like a brake, preferring to pull the music back towards slower textures. That lead to some inneresting meeting places — here's one quicker and one slower taste of how it all worked out.

[Music By & For Ken Aldcroft returns to The Tranzac tomorrow night (March 8th) with sets by Allison Cameron/William Davison/John Oswald and Emily Denison/Andrew Furlong.]

Recording: Sorbara/Neal/Gill

Artist: Joe Sorbara/Wes Neal/Tania Gill

Songs: Waltz for Ken [composer; Dave Clark] + X Marks the Spot [composer: Ken Aldcroft]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Music By & For Ken Aldcroft, I), December 14, 2016.

Sorbara-Neal-Gill - Waltz for Ken

Sorbara-Neal-Gill - X Marks the Spot

This trio — with series convener Joe Sorbara in the drum chair joined by Tania Gill on piano and long-time Convergence Ensemble bassist Wes Neal — worked in both the "by" and "for" categories, sharing this brand new piece from Dave Clark (as well as one by Sorbara himself) alongside a series of Aldcroft originals, explored with vibrantly jazzy interplay.

["Music By & For Ken Aldcroft" returns to The Tranzac on Wednesday (January 11th) with sets by Mike Gennaro (solo percussion), Anthony Argatoff/Andrew Furlong/Mike Gennaro/Joe Sorbara and My Misshapen Ear (Anthony Argatoff/Andrew Furlong/Joe Sorbara).]

Recording: Alaniaris

Artist: Alaniaris

Song: Junction

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Music By & For Ken Aldcroft, I), December 14, 2016.

Alaniaris - Junction

Since Ken Aldcroft's passing, Michael Kaler and Mark Zurawinski have been exploring how to continue the rip-roaring rebetiko excursions they used to share with him. It looks like Alaniaris will now vary in instrumentation and bring in some guest performers, but this set saw the debut of a bass/drums "power duo" format. Kaler is exploring the use of a loop pedal to deploy lead and rhythm parts together. In the meantime, this trip back to the dry, pre-gentrification Junction puts his bass' brooding tone to good use.

[Alaniaris are still holding down their monthly slot at The Tranzac, so you can see 'em on Sunday (January 15th) at 3 p.m. "Music By & For Ken Aldcroft" returns to The Tranzac on Wednesday (January 11th) with sets by Mike Gennaro (solo percussion), Anthony Argatoff/Andrew Furlong/Mike Gennaro/Joe Sorbara and My Misshapen Ear (Anthony Argatoff/Andrew Furlong/Joe Sorbara).]

Recording: Paul Newman

Artist: Paul Newman

Song: [solo saxophone, first section]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Music By & For Ken Aldcroft, I), December 14, 2016.

Paul Newman - [solo saxophone, first section]

Joe Sorbra and friends are keeping the memory of Ken Aldcroft's life and music alight, taking over his old monthly timeslot at The Tranzac for this new series. Paul Newman opened the night with a set of saxophone pieces from a fellow solo explorer looking for new sounds to be eked out from his instrument and musical sensibility.

[Paul Newman is back in action tonight (January 8th), celebrating the release of his new Music for Solo Tenor Saxophone CD at Array Space. "Music By & For Ken Aldcroft" returns to The Tranzac on Wednesday (January 11th) with sets by Mike Gennaro (solo percussion), Anthony Argatoff/Andrew Furlong/Mike Gennaro/Joe Sorbara and My Misshapen Ear (Anthony Argatoff/Andrew Furlong/Joe Sorbara).]