Agadez aces Étran de L'Aïr rock the Horseshoe, Tuesday

Don't miss Toureg family band Étran de L'Aïr play a rare T.O. show at the Horseshoe tonight at 8 pm. Get tickets right here.

Toronto's Orbital Ensemble soar on cosmic second album "Contínua"

Orbital Ensemble will be playing songs from their new Contínua album at Sonic Boom on June 30th.

Here's the scoop...

Contínua is the second full-length by Orbital Ensemble, out now via the Toronto-based label We Are Busy Bodies, pushing the group’s neotropical psychedelic sound into more ambitious and collaborative territory. Written and produced by Toronto-based, Brazilian native multi-instrumentalist Felipe Sena with co-writers Artu Bastos and Dan McLay, the album features expansive arrangements and special guests on vocals, strings and harp. Recorded primarily live off the floor with additional overdubs, the record captures the band's magnetic force while continuing their vision of blending Brazilian musical heritage with contemporary psychedelic and jazz exploration.

The album was recorded during an intensive four day session in August 2025 at Pine Island Studio, an isolated studio on Stoney Lake in Ontario. The ten compositions were tracked live as a six piece ensemble, mirroring Orbital’s touring formation and allowing the music’s energy and interaction to unfold naturally. The session featured Jon Catanus on drums, Ana Higuera on percussion, Dan Mclay on bass, Felipe Sena and Artu Bastos on guitars, and Jakob Leeson on saxophone. The recordings were developed further in Toronto with additional layers including flute and saxophones by Mei Akanuma, vocals by Daniela Longaray, string arrangements by Jessica Deustch, vocals and percussion by Cajú Collective, and harp by Rachel Kitchlew recorded in the UK.

Released worldwide with supporting seven-inch singles produced by Cajú Collective, Contínua marks the next chapter in Orbital Ensemble’s evolution. Across its ten tracks, the album explores themes of resilience, presence, saudade, forgiveness, and spiritual protection while expanding the project’s sonic palette between cosmic jazz melodies and dense psychedelic sound. 

You can get a copy of Orbital Ensemble's new Contínua album via Bandcamp right here. See 'em live in Toronto at Sonic Boom tonight (Tuesday, June 30) at 6 pm. It's free! Check out the video for "Atende o Telefone" below. 

Orbital Ensemble – Contínua

1. Resiliência 06:27

2. Deusas 04:51

3. Razão 03:58

4. Doomscroll 03:50

5. Invocada 02:32

6. Atende o Telefone 03:52

7. Triha 05:41

8. Perdoar 04:07

9. Diatônica 03:16

10. 7 Ervas 04:13

Unissued Jackie DeShannon acoustic demos surface as Girl Of Yesterday

Singer/songwriter Jackie DeShannon's acoustic folk demos collection Girl Of Yesterday is out now via Real Gone Music. Check out a few tracks below. 

Here's the scoop from Real Gone Music...

Love Forever, our 2025 set of demos from Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Jackie DeShannon, set collector hearts a-flutter all over the world with its collection of introspective, folk rock-flavored tunes drawn from her unreleased recordings for Metric Music Publishing. Now, we’re one-upping ourselves with Girl of Yesterday-Acoustic Folk Demos, a collection of COMPLETELY UNRELEASED acoustic folk demos from Jackie, taken from the same rich source of material.

Folk music came naturally to Jackie. She got her start singing gospel at home and in church as a child in her native Kentucky, and then singing country songs in her teens on her own weekly radio show. And her first, self-titled album for Liberty in 1963 consisted entirely of folk repertoire. But that album only featured folk songs written by other artists. Girl of Yesterday—Acoustic Folk Demos, on the other hand, presents a dozen tunes, all penned by Jackie for an album distributed by Metric in 1964. Accompanied only by her own accomplished fingerpicked acoustic guitar, DeShannon delivered a stunning set of heart-rendingly sung, haunting music imbued with the doubt, confusion, and excitement of finding adult identity. Although grounded in acoustic folk, it looked forward to both folk-rock and the singer-songwriter era in its lyrical maturity and melodic complexity. Only 500 to 1000 copies were pressed in November 1964, its availability limited to various A&R personnel and other music industry staff who made decisions with recording artists looking for material. With Girl of Yesterday—Acoustic Folk Demos, this remarkable material finally gains the exposure it deserves.

Among the highlights are a couple of songs that were soon covered by famous artists. Certainly the most renowned is “Don’t Doubt Yourself, Babe,” given a Bo Diddley beat by The Byrds (Jackie was a huge Byrds booster and fan) on their Top Ten 1965 debut album Mr. Tambourine Man, though it was titled “It’s Gonna Be All Right” on her far folkier arrangement on the original Metric Music demo LP. And Marianne Faithfull covered the superbly bittersweet “With You in Mind” on her 1967 album Love in a Mist. We also hear the first appearance of “Splendor in the Grass,” later a 1966 DeShannon single given backing by The Byrds. Richie Unterberger’s notes feature candid recollections from Jackie about the motivations behind the songs and the vibrant, mid-‘60s LA scene from which they emerged. Remastered by Mike Milchner at Sonic Vision and featuring photos from Jackie’s private collection, Girl of Yesterday—Acoustic Folk Demos is available in a beige vinyl edition or on compact disc. A missing and utterly charming chapter in both Jackie’s own evolution and the progression of American folk and pop to more sophisticated forms.

You can get a vinyl copy of Jackie DeShannon's Girl Of Yesterday album right here. Check out a few song clips following the track listing below. 

Jackie DeShannon – Girl Of Yesterday

1. Girl of Yesterday

2. What’s It All About

3. New Thoughts

4. To Be Myself

5. It’s Gonna Be All Right

6. With You in Mind

7. Your Heart Is Missing

8. Splendor in the Grass

9. Hand Made Silver Ring

10. You Could Break My Heart

11. Too Far Out

12. Still Around

B-Side Wins Again: Ray Gant & "Unknown Female Singer"

The brilliantly arranged Ray Gant track "Did She Do It To You" was salvaged from the vault of Jack Ashford's Just Productions.  

Nichol Robertson's Country Flash @ The Bell & Beacon, Monday

Guitarist Nichol Robertson is joined by Kelly Sloan, Vivienne Wilder & Mike Belitsky in Country Flash. Starts at 9:30 pm. 

The Cramps vs. The Riptides

The Cramps' "Call of the Wighat" was clearly inspired by The Riptides instro blaster "Machine Gun" from 1959.  

He Mistook Her For A Swan @ Communist's Daughter, Sunday

Colleen Hodgson and Steve Koch play their own harmonium-enhanced versions of Brit-folk classics – don't miss their set at 6 pm.  

Watch Blue Rodeo play Massey Hall courtesy of the CBC

CBC Music just shared this concert performance of Blue Rodeo at Toronto's legendary Massey Hall. 

Here's the scoop from the CBC...

A true Canadian institution, ‪Blue Rodeo brings its sound to the stage once more in a dazzling concert at Toronto’s iconic Massey Hall. Instantly captivating the audience, the Canadian music legends kick off the evening as they deliver the opening notes of Rose-Coloured Glasses, quickly setting the tone for the night. 

It's the perfect union of two Toronto institutions: the legendary Massey Hall as the perfect backdrop for Jim Cuddy, Bazil Donovan and Greg Keelor’s vibrant, country-rock stage presence and show-stopping performance. Filled with immersive guitar and a rousing, nostalgic energy, the set takes the audience through the band’s impressive discography, diving into tracks from its debut album, Outskirts, to the seminal release Five Days In July. 

Performing some of their biggest songs as they move through the evening — including Head Over Heels, Bad Timing and Trust Yourself — Blue Rodeo effortlessly transitions from intimate moments shared with an enraptured audience to pushing the venue’s acoustic limits on uptempo hits such as Diamond Mine. From an incredible drum solo by Glenn Milchem to prelude 5 Days In May, to bringing out Adam Baldwin to close out the show with a spellbinding performance of Lost Together, the night comes to a peak as the crowd joins in for a show-stopping finale when the band plays out the final anthemic notes. 

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Midnight Cowgirls, Slim Jim Phantom Trio, Nicholas Campbell @ The Horseshoe, Saturday

The Midnight Cowgirls join the Slim Jim Phantom Trio and Nicholas Campbell for a rockin' Horseshoe triple bill tonight!

Get tickets for the Midnight Cowgirls show at the Horseshoe w/ Slim Jim Phantom & Nicholas Campbell right here

Hipster Heatwave w/ The Dracu-Las, Nic & The Narcs & more! @ Owls Club, June 27

Jersey City's Dracu-Las head up a hot Hipster Heatwave line-up with Nic & The Narcs and Fuzz Vultures. Grab yer tix quick! 

Welcome to... HIPSVILLE HEATWAVE

at Owls Club (847 Dovercourt Rd), Toronto 

Saturday, June 27  •  7 PM - 11:30 PM

Tickets: $27.96 advance available here. 

Welcome to Hipsville presents: HIPSVILLE HEATWAVE! An all night party of garage bands, vinyl DJs, snacks, prizes, and more!

Welcome to Hipsville is back at the Owls Club, just in time for summer! Featuring the power-poppin' garage-rockin' sounds of the Dracu-Las from Jersey City and Toronto's own rippin' Nic & The Narcs, this lineup is so hot you can't miss it! 5 bands, 5 DJs, and all night of rock n roll fun... well, at least 4 hours and 30 minutes! Check out a few clips below. 

Lineup:

The Dracu-Las (Jersey City)

Fuzz Vultures

Thee Terrible Threes

Nic & the Narcs

Bettie & the Bandits (North Bay)

Vinyl DJs all nite! Snacks! Prizes! Contests! Get your beach bod ready now!

Event starts at 7 sharp! Get there early for special prizes!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/welcome_to_hipsville

R.I.P. singer/songwriter David Clayton-Thomas, 1941-2026

David Clayton Thomas recorded many popular tunes in his lengthy career but none kicked harder than the Duff Roman-produced "Brainwashed" from 1966.

https://youtu.be/

Matt Berry continues jazz exploration with "Everything's Peachy"

Matt Berry's new jazz album "Everything's Peachy" – out today via Acid Jazz – was partly inspired by the unauthorized 2018 flight of Richard "Beebo" Russell.   

Here's the scoop...

The brilliant first album from the Matt Berry Trio is released Friday (June 26), the second instalment of the Jazz Sessions series. Alongside the standard black LP and CD, there is a strictly limited edition green colour vinyl edition, available only from Acid Jazz Records. Get it right here. 

Matt takes a break from his songwriting-led productions to lead an instrumental trio (joined impressively by Graham Mann and Phil Scragg) on ‘Everything’s Peachy’.

The album explores jazz, instrumental and electronic influences, drawing from later Miles Davis and Erik Satie across a remarkable 12-track suite, inspired by the maiden (and only) flight of Richard ‘Beebo’ Russell back in 2018. 

Some may recall reading about Russell was a 28-year-old ground service agent who made international headlines for swiping a Horizon Air twin-engine Dash 8 Q400 aircraft from Seattle-Tacoma Airport. Despite having no formal flight training, Russell took the 76-seater on a crazy joy ride which involved various death-defying aerial maneuvers, boastfully confiding to the air traffic controller "I've played a few video games, so ya know I know what I'm doin' a little bit." 

After flying around the snow-capped peak of Mount Rainier, he quipped, "everything's peachy." You can read Tim Dickinson's story for Rolling Stone on Richard 'Beebo' Russell's unauthorized flight right here. Listen to Everything's Peachy Pt. 8 and Pt. 12 below. Get a black vinyl copy or a digital version of the album from Bandcamp right here. 

Happy Birthday Eric Davidson of New Bomb Turks!

Raising a glass to Eric Davidson with a few vintage clips from his Toronto appearances with New Bomb Turks. 

Eli 'Paperboy' Reed's new album, "Getting There," produced by Swamp Dogg!

Eli 'Paperboy' Reed called upon the studio expertise of producer Swamp Dogg for his new album Getting There... he should've asked him to design the sleeve too! 

Here's the scoop from Yep Roc Records...

Yep Roc is proud to announce Eli Paperboy Reed's new album, 'Getting There' – produced by the one and only Swamp Dogg! – will be out on September 11th. The first single, “Getting There,” is out now — and the full album is available for pre-order right here: https://elipaperboyreed.lnk.to/gettingthere

Reed says, "We recorded the album at Restoration Sound in Brooklyn, and making this record with Swamp was one of the great experiences of my musical life. It’s soul music, country music, gospel music, rhythm & blues — all the stuff I love — filtered through where I am now and guided by one of the true originals." Check out Eli's behind-the-scenes clip right here.

Listen to the title track “Getting There” following the tracklisting below. 

On his latest collection, Getting There, Eli Paperboy Reed explores a more grown-up kind of love, contemplating what it takes for two people to go the distance through good times and bad. Produced by legendary R&B iconoclast Swamp Dogg, the album is a joyful dose of timeless soul and roots music, but it’s also a deeply mature work of lyrical craftsmanship, one that reckons with the vagaries of love in the long term as it illuminates the myriad throughlines connecting soul, gospel, and R&B music with folk, country, and rock and roll. Add it all up and you’ve got an infectious take on the work that follows the fireworks, an ode to the extraordinary endurance of the ordinary, everyday love that makes the world go around.

Eli 'Paperboy' Reed - Getting There

1. Every Once in a While

2. Asking for a Friend

3. Getting There

4. Like We Used To

5. I Can’t Even Walk (Without You Holding My Hand)

6. How Can I Forget

7. Eli Paperboy Reed, Zaniah - Love You More

8. Knock Knock Memories

9. Sore Loser

10. Eli Paperboy Reed, Swamp Dogg - One Man’s Trash (Is Another Man’s Treasure)

11. Everyone Else

12. Hardworking People

13. The Questions

One For The Weekend: Art Law

Check out Art Law's rockabilly rave-up "Kitty Kat Rock" cut for Hollywood, Florida's Gulfstream Records in 1962.

The Ex + not a band + Andy Moor & Yannis Kyriakides @ Cafeteria Upstairs, June 25

Unstoppable Dutch post-punk attack unit The Ex – who've out-lasted most of the class of '79 – hit Toronto tonight – don't miss it!

The Ex + not a band + Andy Moor & Yannis Kyriakides

Presented by TONE

Cafeteria | Upstairs • 1650 Dupont St. • Toronto, ON

Doors Open: 8:00 PM | Show: 8:30 PM | All Ages / Licensed

Tickets: $35 plus fees. Get 'em here.

THE EX

The Ex is a band resolutely focused on the future. After more than 45 years of existence and constant reinvention, it rejects all nostalgia, preferring to explore new alliances and continually take on musical challenges far from any comfort zone.

Emerging from the punk and squat movements of the late 1970s, The Ex has become an independent and unclassifiable force, performing in over 45 countries and paving the way for significant intercultural collaborations, notably with Ethiopian artists. Returning to the international stage with new compositions and a new album, If Your Mirror Breaks, the band continues to embody a vibrant, collective, and inquisitive sound—forward in all directions.

NOT A BAND 

not a band is Kalina Nedelcheva, Danny Alexander, Mitchel Lohmeier, Roya Biazar, Victor Ostrovsky & Marilyn Yogarajah. A carpe diem home-recording project quickly grew into a musical ensemble of friends from different disciplines & perspectives. not a band’s sound is playfully chaotic, energetic & experimental. It draws influence from new wave, post-punk, jazz, grunge, spoken word, free improvisation & avant-garde sounds.

The group is known for its lively theatrical performances, complex scores of unexpected tonal transitions & a laid-back, collective creative direction, which can be observed in the ‘not our job’ zine, the stop-motion music video for ‘Paprika’ (see below) the all-improv side-project ‘band’ & a forthcoming video project for their latest EP, ‘Modern Rot.’

ANDY MOOR & YANNIS KYRIAKIDES

Hailing from opposite ends of the experimental music spectrum Amsterdam based Andy Moor and Yannis Kyriakides have been making music together for over 20 years now, brought together by a mutual passion for 1920’s & 30’s underground Greek rebetika music. The combination of Yannis’ remarkable compositional skills and Andy’s improvisational work with guitar, results in a loose but well structured musical landscape that constantly shifts and surprises the musicians playing as much as the audience. Watch an interview with Andy and Yannis below. 

The Jayhawks announce new, Canuck-centric album, Sanctuary Park and tour starting in Toronto!

The Jayhawks' new Sanctuary Park album is a Gary Louris love letter to Canada. Catch 'em at the Danforth Music Hall Oct. 16th!

Here's the scoop from Jayhawks HQ...

The Jayhawks announce their new album, Sanctuary Park (out August 28th via Thirty Tigers which you can pre-order right here here), along with the lead single, “Keeping Our Heads Above Water,” and a  North American tour kicking off in Toronto at The Danforth Music Hall on October 16th – tickets go on sale Friday (June 26) at 10 am. 

Produced by Bob Ezrin, Sanctuary Park shows why The Jayhawks remain such an important band after more than four decades. They’ve created music that embodies the enduring spirit and soul of classic American songwriting. Song after song the needle-perfect pop melodies, lush three-part harmonies and thoughtful lyrics reflect their genre-defying, category-busting style that dates back to the band’s pioneering days in post-punk Minneapolis when they foretold today’s Americana movement. Defying the winds of fashion, the band has always stuck to what it does best: write and perform great songs, whether on stage or in the studio.

For Sanctuary Park, The Jayhawks reunited with the legendary Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Alice Cooper, Lou Reed), who produced their 2000 album Smile, a “classic,” according to The New York Times. When he heard Gary Louris was seeking a producer Ezrin immediately signed on, and invited the band to his hometown of Toronto to record. “I love their music,” says Ezrin. “There is gentleness and a sweetness to their sound, and I found myself craving a little bit more of that.“

A conscious decision was made to highlight the strengths of the band – Louris’s songwriting, the band’s trademarked three-part harmonies, and the intuitive interplay between Louris, keyboard player Karen Grotberg, drummer Tim O’Reagan and bassist Marc Perlman – on display on “Keeping Our Heads Above Water” (listen below). This interplay only comes with years of playing together, creating their own musical vocabulary. “Get us in a room together and there’s no one better; we have a certain musical magic that happens without even a word or a discussion.” Playing live in the studio made this record what it is… a time, a place, music of the moment. 

While the album title references an actual location in Dundas, Ontario, Sanctuary Park is also a fictional place where distant memories re-emerge, childhood friends from years prior start speaking again, and teenage lovers start lives that their older selves are determined to renew. In these songs the hands of time tick past regrets and move toward greater possibilities.

The album has a definite sense of place. Not only was it recorded in Canada with a Canadian producer and Canadian engineers in a Canadian studio, but lyrically there are numerous references specific to Canada. After marrying his wife Stephanie, a born and bred proud Canadian, Louris became a permanent resident, giving him a somewhat unique view and perspective that has contributed to the content of these songs. Ironically, although the band has always had the tag of a true “American” band, in truth there has always been something truly Canadian about their sound.

Sanctuary Park arrives at a momentous time for the band as they celebrate their 40th year – the Jayhawks self-titled first record (known to fans as The Bunkhouse Album) was released in 1986. The Jayhawks have  played most every major music festival, from Farm Aid to Primavera Sound, Pinkpop to Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky. In the tradition of The Band and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Jayhawks have toured with and served as backup band for many of music’s most acclaimed visionaries, including Ray Davies, Roger McGuinn, and Johnny Cash. The band will be touring throughout the world in the fall of 2026 and spring of 2027 to promote the new album and build upon their already impressive legacy.

The Jayhawks – Sanctuary Park

1. Keeping Our Heads Above Water

2. Kingston Girl

3. Mr. Lincoln

4. Hands Upon The Wheel

5. Leap Of Faith

6. American Midnight

7. Always And A Day

8. Sanctuary Park

9. Familiar Strangers

10. It’ll Be All Right Tonight

11. Rowing The Boat

Tickets go on sale Friday, June 26th at 10 am local time. For more tour info, visit: https://bit.ly/3QytYP5. 

Happy 89th Birthday Eddie Floyd!

Cheers to soul singer/songwriter extraordinaire Eddie Floyd! Here's some performance & interview footage and some stellar tunes.

Irene Torres' Peruvian Quartet @ OLG Village Stage, June 25

Irene Torres w/ her Peruvian Quartet hit the T.O. Jazz Fest's OLG Village Stage (Cumberland & Bellair) tonight at 6:30 pm. Free!

Rev. Horton Heat, The Surfrajettes @ The Horseshoe, June 25

Rev. Horton Heat and crew rock the Horseshoe again tonight. Here are a couple of recent performances and interviews.  

LINKS
Watch Rev. Horton Heat on Art Fein's Poker Party right here and there

Apart from the hair, choice of guitars and cowbell, not a lot has changed since Jim Heath's Sweetbriar days. 

Happy Birthday Erkin Koray!

Remembering Turkish psych guitar great Erkin Koray with a few performances and more. 

Cassandra Wilson celebrates 30 years of New Moon Daughter @ Koerner Hall, Wednesday

Cassandra Wilson reprises the music of her acclaimed 1995 album New Moon Daughter with the musicians who cut it. 

 

Toronto Jazz Festival presents Cassandra Wilson

at Koerner Hall (273 Bloor St. West) 

Wednesday, June 24

Tickets: Starting at $95 available here. 

The Grammy Award-winning jazz musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi makes her Koerner Hall debut with an all-star band from her critically-lauded New Moon Daughter (Blue Note) album from 1995 including Sisters Euclid guitarist Kevin Breit, bassist Lonnie Plaxico. guitarist Brandon Ross and percussionist Jeffrey Haynes in addition to Swiss-born, NYC-based harmonica ace Grégoire Maret (who has worked with Herbie Hancock, Sting, Pat Metheney).      

Critic Gary Giddins described Wilson as “a singer blessed with an unmistakable timbre and attack who has expanded the playing field” by incorporating blues, country, and folk music into her work. Her honours include two Grammy Awards, the Django d'Or Award, the Edison Award, and a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail. Ms. Wilson also performed in one of the leading roles for Wynton Marsalis’s Blood on the Fields, the first jazz album to receive a Pulitzer Prize. In 2022, she was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowship and was named an NEA Jazz Master alongside Stanley Clarke, Billy Hart, and Donald Harrison.      

Wilson’s tour celebrates the 30th anniversary of her release New Moon Daughter, which artfully blended jazz and Americana, and catapulted her to a new echelon of fame in the jazz world – hitting #1 on the Billboard Jazz Chart, and earning her a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. Her Koerner Hall performance features four of the musicians who joined Wilson for the New Moon Daughter recording. 

Watch a few of Cassandra Wilson's performances below. 

Before They Were Famous: Steven Spielberg

Long before breaking big with Jaws, Steven Spielberg shot the Night Gallery pilot "Eyes" with Joan Crawford in 1968. 

The Hulagoons album release party @ The Skyline, Wednesday

The launch of The Hulagoons' new album will also serve as a tribute to the group's late singer/percussionist Teddy Hawkins. 

Watch Paul Desmond with Ed Bickert on CBC-TV's Take 30 in 1975

Watch saxophone great Paul Desmond perform with Ed Bickert, Don Thompson and Jerry Fuller on Take 30 with hosts Paul Soles and Mary Lou Finlay.

Paul Desmond with Ed Bickert, Don Thompson & Jerry Fuller on Take 30

Shot for CBC-TV's long-running news and entertainment program Take 30 in the fall of 1975, this rare performance and interview footage of alto saxophonist Paul Desmond – who composed the jazz standard "Take Five" while a member of  the Dave Brubeck Quartet and played the unforgettable saxophone part on the band's classic 1959 recording for the album of the same name – features an all-star support cast of Toronto-based musicians, including guitarist Ed Bickert, bassist Don Thompson and drummer Jerry Fuller.  

Not only is the clip a rare CBC-TV document of Canadian jazz aces at their peak, it's also historically important for capturing Desmond in action,  commanding as ever, less than two years prior to his death from lung cancer on May 30, 1977 at the age of 52. Desmond, who was a chain-smoker and known to enjoy a tipple as well, maintained his famously dry sense of humour even in the darkest moments. Upon receiving his terminal diagnosis, Desmond responded that he was delighted to hear that his liver was in tip-top condition. Unfortunately, the footage isn't the best quality but until the CBC does a proper release of the Take 30 broadcast from '75,  a rough video transfer will have to suffice. 

  

Happy 80th Birthday Eliades Ochoa!

Raising a glass to Buena Vista Social Club keyman Eliades Ochoa with a live tear through "Chan Chan," a documentary and more!

Isaiah Collier: Collier Plays Coltrane @ Hugh's Room, June 22

Isaiah Collier's highly anticipated Toronto appearance – which clearly should've been held at a much larger venue – is now sold out. 

Isaiah Collier: "Collier Plays Coltrane"

at Hugh's Room's Green Sanderson Hall

Monday, June 22, 2026

Tickets: sold out!

Doors at 9 pm, Show at 930 pm.  

The Toronto Jazz Festival is excited to present Isaiah Collier in “Collier Plays Coltrane” - a special celebration of John Coltrane’s centennial.

Saxophonist Isaiah Collier has emerged as one of the most exciting voices in contemporary jazz, known for blending the rich traditions of the past with the urgency of the present to forge the sound of the future. Described as a maverick of creative and improvisational force, he has collaborated with jazz luminaries such as Kahil El’Zabar, Ambrose Akinmusire, Craig Taborn, Joe Dyson, Azar Lawrence and NEA Jazz Masters Billy Hart, Marshall Allen, and Denardo Coleman (son of free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman), among many others. A proud member of the legendary Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), Collier stands firmly within the lineage of Chicago’s rich tenor saxophone legacy.

DownBeat Magazine has hailed him as “The Next Sax Giant”—a title befitting an artist who continues to reshape the sonic landscape of modern jazz. Watch Isaiah Collier in action below. 

Watch Television (with Richard Hell) on television in 1974!

Admittedly the image quality ain't great and neither is the fidelity but this footage of Television with Richard Hell is very rare.  

Col. Tom's Swinging Door welcomes Alex Pangman @ The Cameron House, Sunday

Alex Pangman, Peter Hill and Gregg Anderson join Col. Tom and his crew for honky tonk kicks at the Cameron tonight 6-8 pm!