Listen to Breaking The Tethers for music you could call jazz, broadly defined. Free, modal, experimental, avant, out there, and more are words you could use for the music that BTT feeds to your ears. Breaking The Tethers sends out tentacles to experimental, folk, rock, world, and odd stuff that does…
Brotherhood starts the show, week one!Playlist: Brotherhood Consort - SelflessnessJoshua Banks - AgilaThe AACM Great Black Music Ensemble - OmoiRonan Guilfoyle - Diversionary tacticsEd Palermo Big Band - The fishIconoclast - Hope you don't mindGeoffrey Dean Quartet - PrismBennie Maupin - Mappo
Almost an "all-new" show this week!Playlist: Bobby Hutcherson - Hello to the windMiles From India - Great expectationsSteve Lehman - L.A. genesCecil Taylor - T (beautiful young 'un)Cosmic Cliffs - Serpentine suspensionZhengtao Pan Jazz Orchestra - On the busFarnaz Ohadi - Lama badaSheldon Agwu - Unsing heroesGerald Clayton - RushBenjie Porecki - Wise decisions
This was an all-new show, the first of 2025!Playlist: Jimmy Farace - Growing painsGerald Clayton - Sacrifice cultureNour Symon - Il n'y a rien à dire sur l'humanitéDave Robbins Big Band - WestcoastingSteve Lehman - 34aThe Steve Holt Jazz Impact Quintet - ImpactRuss Anixter's Hippie Big Band - What is hipSheldon Agwu - Providence
A music-heavy show, featuring many different musical styles.Playlist: Muhal Richard Abrahams - Arhythm songyTakuya Kuroda - EVERYDAYStef.in - Aku san zanDan Moretti & Brazilia - Witch huntHugh Hopper & Alan Gowen - Stopes changeManu Dibango - Africa boogieStockton Helbing Quartet - Lele's tune part IThe Ostara Project - Voyage sans retourArtemis - Sights unseen
This show featured an interview with musician, composer, and bandleader Rachel Therrien. Also, there was heaven, angels, Satan, purgatory, and a necropolis.Playlist: Caili O'Doherty - Struttin' with some barbequeRachel Therrien - OrunHenri Texier - Quand le blues s'en iraRuss Anixter's Hippie Big Band - Heaven on their mindsRoy Haynes - Satan's mysterious feelingDr. Purgatory - NecropolisPete La Roca - Lazy afternoonMichael Musillami Trio - Today the angels
Tuba, Chapman Stick, piano, prog, and much more!Playlist: Jeremy Ledbetter Trio - GravityHot 8 Brass Band - Big tubaStan Tracey Quartet - Starless and bible blackBrian Baggett - Ojos verdesEmerson Lake & Palmer - Piano improvisationsSteve Lehman - 23cThe Irv Grossman Sextet - Sound adviceRh Positive: Jim Heineman's Dream Band - Whirlwind
Dig all-women groups and loads of oddball jazz this week!Playlist: Rachel Therrien - Beauty freeArchie Shepp - The mac man (alternate take)The Ostara Project - RajalaskshniReginald Cyntje - ImpactArtemis - KomorebiRobin Kenyatta - You know how we doStef.in - Juan SotoRobert Creeley, Chris Massey, Steve Swallow, David Cast, David Torn - Words scattered
Out there + Africa + moody mellowPlaylist: McCoy Tyner - Contemporary focusJeff Beck Group - Ice cream cakesJoe Farrell - MotionOkonski - Summer stormManu Dibango - Waka juju part 1Atlantis Jazz Ensemble - Pillars of HerculesManu Dibango - Waka juju part 2Benjie Porecki - SonoraSonny Simmons - Things and beings
A special seven (tracks) on the show!Playlist: Yellowjackets - XermerisHealing Force - A man is like a treeJacob Wutzke - WarriorsWadada Leo Smith's Golden Quartet - DeJohnetteOkonski - PennyNanami Haruta - The vibeArt Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - The drum thunder suite
Solid, solid music today!Playlist: Paul Motian Band - Mumbo jumboRachel Therrien - OrunRuss Anixter's Hippie Big Band - Whipping postMiles From India - All bluesRoy Haynes - Roy's tuneSteve Lehman - Unbroken and unspokenJuan Perea - Tyner timeKeith Jarrett - Diatribe
A jazz-rock kinda show, maybe a little proggy...Playlist: Merl Saunders - Welcome to the basementShabaka - To the moonLee Morgan - ExotiqueAriane Racicot - Avant la tempeteJazz Sabbath - Spiral architectBilly Cobham - Moody modesGunter Hampel Galaxie Dream Band, Jeanne Lee - Folk song/Languages, seeds and roots/No. 74/grand tour part e.
An all-round fine show! Spacey! Groovy!Playlist: Freddie Hubbard - First lightMikrokolektyw - GiftRare Air - Mammoth no armsBrian Charette - Why'd you have to go and lie to me boyCarson Tworow and David Lavoie - CypressThumbscrew - Somewhat agreeAmnesiac Quartet - BloomJerry Kalaf - PerspectivesAnthony Braxton Septet - Composition no. 348 part 7
A big tune starts this week: Out-bloody-rageous! And then we finish up in hell.Playlist: Soft Machine - Out-bloody-rageousBrodie West Quintet - Inhabit IAriane Racicot - Dancing with fireAlvin Queen - JazzCup Cafe bluesJazz Sabbath - Into the voidNicole McCabe - Inner criticSquirrel Nut Zippers - Hell
A long track begins the proceedings once more!Playlist: McCoy Tyner , Joe Henderson - In 'n' outJerry Kalaf - EpilogueCarl Allen - Hidden agendaMarion Brown - Pepi's tempoJoe Elefante's Wheel of Dharma - Samadhi
No long track to start this time!!Playlist: The Heavy Hitters - JBBob James - WolfmanJoel Jeschke - The number twelveAndrew Hill - Plantation bagMcCormack & Yarde Duo - Dark too brightMichael Sarian & Tomás Kidd - IncomingLEIBA Trio - Salgan al solMike Vlatkovich, kent mclagen, Chris Lee - Merle & NealRoberto Occhipinti - EvidenceZach Adleman - Evidence
Playlist: Hughscore - SpaceliftTipula - Smoky serendiptyPaul Hanson and Raze the Maze - When is enough?Iconoclast - RazoresqueIconoclast - Dead dressed girlsBrûlez les meubles - Conscience du tragiqueBeat Funktion - Snap to itBrahja Waldman's Quartet - Interpretation
Only five tracks! But five fine tracks, including one LONG one!Playlist: McCoy Tyner , Joe Henderson - Taking offMartin Tétreault - Bechet in the futureIrvin Mayfield - James BookerNicola Miller - Night crawlersThe Westerlies - 9/8
A few technical difficulties but still strong stuff - Coltrane! Miles! Cannonball!Playlist: John Coltrane - CreationDave McMurray - China cat sunflowerDiane Roblin & Life Force - CadenzaJohn McLaughlin - NostalgiaDavid Zucchi - Hello/GoodbyeCannonball Adderley Quintet - Soul zodiac/Walk tallPaul Hanson and Raze the Maze - QuietMiles Davis - Black Satin
For New Year's Eve Eve, one long voyage with a few shorter trips.Playlist: Tyshawn Sorey - Your good liesMartin Tétreault - Méthode ZappaLeszek Kulakowski Ensemble - Sophisticated beautyDeath Ambient - Part 9Nicola Miller - Night crawler
A fairly crazed episode, with appropriate injections of Christmas weirdness!Playlist: Hank Mobley - The third seasonLooper Colony - IntrospectionMarvin Gaye - I want to come home this ChristmasThumbscrew - Singlet. - Merry fucking ChristmasThélonius García - GouldKing Crimson - GroonJ.D. McDonald - Boogaloo Santa ClausPeggy Lee & Cole Schmidt - GloopStan Harrison - (Smaller than) the big pictureWesley Willis - Merry Christmas
Not Dec. 23! (long story)Playlist: Bill King - Harlan County shakedownJacob Chung - Thompson's pulpitPositive Catastrophe - Deebrujo twoPloug/Pettersen/Bsenhortst - NovemberKeith Price Double Quartet - The uglyRichard Davis - The rabbiJoel Jeschke - Nuuksio
Nice and varied!Playlist: Luis Tovar - SabanaJean-Luc Ponty - Wandering on the Milky Way/Fight for lifePeggy Lee & Cole Schmidt - MercyLisa Hilton - Prophecies & predictionsMichael Musilami Trio +4 - Thuggish morningsAdrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad - Una eteGeneviève Marentette - River manDave Douglas - Child of all nations
BTT today: Bouncing from normal to crazy and back again!Playlist: Roberto Occhipinti - TuaregJohn Surman, Howard Moody - Dancing in the loftStefan Smulovitz - Sunday rainJayne Cortez & The Firesplitters - No simple explanationsCarn Davidson 9 - SaudéBen Paterson - Chitlins con carneGreg Kelly - UntitledCalgaréal - Here, there, now, thenJoel Jeschke - IntroductionJoel Jeschke - KoskelaTim Motzer - 1K 2020 retrospectiveMasayuki Takaynagi - Free form suite, 2nd movement
A musical antidote to a snowy day in YYCPlaylist: Horacee Arnold - Euroaquilo silenceJeff Goldblum & the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra - The catAdrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad - Os ancestraisGary Williamson Trio - Patron saintAngell & Crane - UnearthPeter Erskine, Alan Pasqua, Darek Oles - TurnaroundBennie Maupin - ExcursionGeneviève Marentette - I talk to the windDan Fortin - MintyJacob Chung - Dim sumMitch Shiner and the Blooming Tones Band - When you wish upon a star
From free jazz to doom jazz, this episode has it all!Playlist: Alexander Von Schlippenbach - Main lines (part one)Omer Lesham - David's devastating journeyStockton Helbing Quartet - HandprintsFast 'n' bulbous: the Captain Beefheart Project - Evening bellChristopher Whitley - SixHarold Lopez-Nussa - A deguelloPhilip Clemo - StalkerRyuichi Sakamoto - Last regretsRh Positive: Jim Heineman's Dream Band - Rh positive
Guest host: From Breaking The Tethers, Andrew Waller!Playlist: Marton Juhasz - Sea of uncertainltySugar Brown - Sixteen shotsHarry Skoler - Last star, last nightSeun Kuti & Egypt 80 - MoveEliza Carthy - Greenwood laddie/Mrs. Capron's reel/TuneCalgaréal - Mood musicKRYPTONOMICON - Necromantical suicideThe Smile - Eyes & mouthSchl@g! - Ambiguity of wisdomKronos Quartet and Friends, Laurie Anderson, Marshall Allen - PhenomenonSuzanne de Bussac - I'm a mamaThe Stoics - Nuclear patrolThe Muffins - Egress gnome odd/Impromptu factoryTommy Guerrero - Up from the dustOmer Lesham - Capetown swagEldritch Priest - A gilded madmanThey Might Be Giants - CowtownOstrofti - The last waveMercyless - Evil shall come upon youMary Halvorson - Nodding yellowChristopher Whitley - SongRyuichi Sakamoto - GerminationNo Codes - Sokushinbutsu
A solid show! (the host says!)Playlist: Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, Sampa the Great - Emi alutaCalgaréal - Dialogue 1Andy Milne & Unison - GeewaThe Smile - TiptoeIlya Osachuk - Lviv perspectivePharoah Sanders - Wisdom through musicRandy Hoexter - SonateBlack Artist Group - For peace and liberty pt. 4Dharma Down - Jalla manDan Pitt Quintet - 27 hoursNeil Adler - Blues for McCoy
Playlist: Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, Sampa the Great - Emi alutaCalgaréal - Dialogue 1Andy Milne & Unison - GeewaThe Smile - TiptoeIlya Osachuk - Lviv perspectivePharoah Sanders - Wisdom through musicRandy Hoexter - SonateBlack Artist Group - For peace and liberty pt. 4Dharma Down - Jalla manDan Pitt Quintet - 27 hoursNeil Adler - Blues for McCoy
Mostly new material this week, with a fair chunk of electric guitar.Playlist: Martin, Medeski, and Wood - ReliquaryD. D. Jackson - So, say IJoel Frahm - Loomie nationTeri Parker's Free Spirits - Drummer's songTim Brady - (Very) short pieces for (jazz) guitar - IAdrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad - Obi do woa (if someone loves you)Tim Brady - (Very) short pieces for (jazz) guitar - IITroy Roberts, Troy Roberts - BrotherlationTim Brady - (Very) short pieces for (jazz) guitar - IIIOmer Lesham - Take an AdvilTim Brady - (Very) short pieces for (jazz) guitar - IVEldritch Priest - Grave needds, rainbowRyuichi Sakamoto - Coda
The 2024 CJSW Funding Drive edition of Breaking The Tethers!Playlist: Brother Jack McDuff - Theme from electric surfboardKronos Quartet and Friends - Daddy's gonna tell you no lieYusef Lateef - Ching miauEve Egoyan & Mauricio Pauly - HeightLuke Stewart - Dudu
A nice mix for Turkey Day!Playlist: Jack Walrath - SacrificeSahara von Hattenberger - Claude Bolling suite for cello and jazz piano trio: 6: cello fanDave Holland Quartet - InterceptionPaul Abella Trio +1 - Building the better mousetrapRoger Kellaway - Try to rememberDoug Wilde - A conversationMatt Mitchell - RapaciousJeff Rupert - Jeff Rupert
A mellower show, with spots of weirdnessPlaylist: Hank Mobley - Split feelin'sNikolov-Ivanovic Undectet - CarefreeD. D. Jackson - Daylight shooting in Little ItalyErgo - GonzMcCormack & Yarde Duo - D-townJuan Megna Group - MariwôJake Noble - Theme for a new ageSteve Beresford - Horse tailPatrick Battstone - Beneath the keelJohn Geggie Trio + Donny McCaslin - Ruelles
A solid show (the host says!)Playlist: Doug Wilde - ZephyrMatt Mitchell - SpongerMark Meadows - Somethin' goodSergio Pamies - CorozonadaHarry Skoler - NanCeeColorado Convservatory for the Jazz Arts - GrampmaHarry Skoler - AbyssAnthony D'Alessandro - The golden meanGraham Collier Dozen - Darius: part oneJeff Rupert - Pharaoh's daughter
A nice mix of styles here. Plenty of newly-released music, much of it Canadian.Playlist: Brasstactics - Dutch anglesEvan Parker, Matthew Wright - Trance map (excerpt)Oliver Nelson - The critic's choiceChristopher Parnis - Guitar intoWayne Alpern - Spartacus love themeSteve Beresford - Gift of linenLee Morgan - Unce RoughGreg Amirault - A change of paceLouis Carnell - threePaul Tobey - Take five
This was an "almost nothing new played" edition of BTT!Playlist: Kronos Quartet and Friends - Outer spaceways incorporatedWilliam Parker Orchestra - Portrait of LouisianaThe Westerlies - Love, love, loveThe Claudia Quintet with Gary Versace - ZurnDave Lalama Big Band - No evidenceScott Kemp - Blues 'n' boxingJoshua Redman - Let it be
This was a "nothing new played" edition of BTT!Playlist: John Coltrane - LeoBrahja Waldman's Quartet - Wise loveRob Frayne Dr. EAMBAND - And the horse...Oscar Peterson Trio - The smudgeBob Ferrel's Jazztopian Dream featuring Dwight West - Alter ego
Indo-jazz, space-jazz, jazz-rock, and singing!Playlist: The Luvmenauts - Doing jazzElton Dean - Blind badgerPhilip Weberndoerfer - One of these daysIrene Schweitzer Trio with Dewan Motiher Trio and Friends - Brigach and Ganges part 1Kronos Quartet and Friends - Daddy's gonna tell you no lieBappi Lahiri - East and westWeather Report - Medley: Vertical invader / T.H. / Dr. Honoris CausaBria Skonberg - The beat goes on
Groovy with some freaky.Playlist: Kuumba-Toudie Heath - MaulanaDavid Bixler - I spyYair Lowenson Trio featuring Mark Turner - Four or sixCharles Lloyd - SorceryKim Cass - TrenchDave Liebman & CNY Jazz Orchestra - Present tenseGato Barbieri - Viva Emiliano Zapata
Should have called this the 1975 show. Almost half the tracks played are from that year.Playlist: Eddie Henderson - Scorpio-LibraRyan Oliver Quartet - Wayfaring strangerDave Schumacher & Cubeye - Walk spirit talk spiritJamset - West Chester ladyYosuke Yamashita Trio - MitichondriaGentle Giant - Cogs in cogsAlex Sipiagin - Jumping ahead
Some all-time faves this week plus a bit of singing and other fine stuff.Playlist: Food - AstralThe Daniel Pelton Collective - Moving onForgas Band Phenomena - RebirthRyan Oliver Quartet - EquinoxNew Tony Williams Lifetime - FredOld And New Dreams - Orbit of La-BaEric Alexander, Mike LeDonne - For MabesArooj Aftab - ZameenKim Cass - Sea vine
Playlist: Wayne Shorter Quartet - Zero gravityBill King - Carla BleyMikrokolektyw - Tiring holidaySoft Machine - TeethDave Schumacher & Cubeye - El dilema de chegui metrallaMatthew Shipp - ReflexSteve Lehman Octet - Beyond all limitsChristine Jensen Jazz Orchestra - Harbour
Solid, baby. And there was Soft Machine!Playlist: Wayne Shorter Quartet - Zero gravityBill King - Carla BleyMikrokolektyw - Tiring holidaySoft Machine - TeethDave Schumacher & Cubeye - El dilema de chegui metrallaMatthew Shipp - ReflexSteve Lehman Octet - Beyond all limitsChristine Jensen Jazz Orchestra - Harbour