Albums
A selection of recently released albums from Alberta composers, musicians and bands across a variety of genres.
Jazz
ANGELA WRIGLEY TRIO
MESSY
Cellar Music
Vinyl / CD / Digital
Wrigley, a graduate of the MRU vocal-jazz program, covers jazz standards and a classic Michael Jackson hit alongside an original.
www.angelawrigleytrio.com
JOSHUA BANKS
PARA SAYO
Self-released
Vinyl / CD / Digital
This pianist explores his Filipino-Canadian heritage on his debut recording project, which features a spoken word contribution from his mother.
banksjmusic.bandcamp.com
JEREMY BROWN WITH AUDREY OCHOA
INTERSECTIONS
Chronograph Records
CD / Digital
Brown (saxophone) and Ochoa (trombone) join forces for this album of original compositions. Winner of the YYC Music Award for Jazz Recording of the Year 2025.
jeremy-brown.bandcamp.com
COOL CATS
COOL CATS & FRIENDS
Self-released
Digital
This Lethbridge jazz quintet cut their teeth at the Owl Acoustic Lounge before releasing this, their debut album.
coolcatscombo.hearnow.com
DELIRIUM STREET PARTY BRASS
THE ALBERTA SESSIONS EP
Self-released
CD / Digital
This album reimagines songs by Alberta songstresses including Joni Mitchell, Feist, Kiesza and Tegan and Sara, through a New Orleans street band sensibility.
deliriumspb.bandcamp.com
JACOB DO
MAYBE
Bent River Records
CD / Digital
This debut featuring original compositions for the octet was recorded live at Edmonton’s Yardbird Suite.
www.jacobdomusic.com
FOX BIG BAND FEATURING BENNY BENACK III
LIVE AT THE IRONWOOD
Self-released
CD / Digital
After a 40-year history and monthly residence at the Ironwood, this 17-piece big band has finally released its first recording. Emmy- nominated vocalist and trumpeter Benny Benack III is featured throughout.
foxbigband.bandcamp.com
CAITY GYORGY
WITH STRINGS
La Reserve Records
CD / Digital
This latest release from Gyorgy, a prolific artist and three-time Juno-Award-winning vocalist, was written with Mark Limacher and recorded at the National Music Centre with a 40-piece orchestra.
www.caitygyorgy.com
BRETT HANSEN
CONFLUENCE
Tunnel Mountain Records
Vinyl / CD / Digital
Modern and improvisational jazz is interwoven with folk and rock melodies, with support from Edmonton scene veterans such as Luis Tovar, Mallory Chipman and Joel Jeschke.
bretthansen.bandcamp.com
KAYLA HOSHIZAKI
GOOD VIBES
Self-released
Digital
This Calgary vibraphonist is accompanied by clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, flugelhorn, bass, guitar and vocals on her debut.
kaylahoshizaki.bandcamp.com
AL MUIRHEAD
STILL COOKIN’ AT 90 (THE CANADA SESSIONS, VOLUME II)
Chronograph Records
Vinyl / CD / Digital
Canadian jazz icon Muirhead has performed and toured with Dizzy Gillespie, Tommy Banks, Diana Krall and more. This album is reported to be his final release, bringing together friends, long-time collaborators and a new generation of jazz musicians.
www.almuirhead.com
QUIET QUINTIN QUARTET
MUNDARE SAUSAGE FAIR
Little Whore Records
Digital
An avant-garde exploration of jazz saxophone, drumming that pulls from heavy metal blast beats as much as jazz, and soundscapes not often heard in the genre.
littlewhorerecords.bandcamp.com
STEPHANIE URQUHART JAZZ ORCHESTRA
FIGHT OR FLIGHT
Self-released
Digital
The pianist, composer and arranger was the composer- in-residence for McGill Jazz Orchestra 1 in fall 2023 and the MacEwan Conservatory Big Band in spring 2025.
www.stephanieurquhart.com
ARETHA TILLOTSON
KINDA OUT WEST
Bent River Records
CD / Digital
A follow-up to the Western Canadian Music Award- winning album featuring Christine Jensen, Ingrid Jensen and Dave Laing.
www.arethatillotson.com
LUIS TOVAR
BACK TO MY ROOTS
Chronograph Records
Digital
This release pays homage to the percussionist’s heritage, interpreting Venezuelan songs through jazz.
luistovar.bandcamp.com
Classical
GREG BLOCK
ORIGINAL MUSIC FOR SMALL ENSEMBLE
Self-released
Digital
Composed and arranged by Greg Block with musicians Astralis Quartet, recorded April 16, 2025, at the National Music Centre in Calgary.
gregblock.bandcamp.com
CALGARY WIND SYMPHONY
PREVAIL
Self-released
Digital
Winner of Classical Recording of the Year at the 2025 YYC Music Awards, this mix of wind band compositions by Satoshi Yagisawa, Cait Nishimura, J.S. Bach, John Cacavas and Clifton Williams was recorded at the Polaris Theatre.
calgarywindsymphony.com
TREVOR DEMAERE
PIANO ORIGINS
Self-released
Digital
Ten tracks of piano music composed by DeMaere.
trevordemaeremusic.bandcamp.com
DUO MAJOYA
CANADIAN SUITE CELEBRATIONS
Centrediscs
CD / Digital
Marnie Giesbrecht and Joachim Segger are the keyboard duo on organ and piano. This album has compositions by Henderson, Bédard and Kloppers, performed on the Davis Concert Organ at the Winspear Centre.
duomajoya.com
VIVIAN FUNG
INSECTS & MACHINES: QUARTETS OF VIVIAN FUNG
Sono Luminus
CD / Digital
The Jasper String Quartet performs compositions of Vivian Fung in this 2025 Chamber Music America Album of the Year, the first commercial release of Fung’s first four quartets.
sonoluminuslabel.bandcamp.com
KAT HAMMER
STANDARDS
Self-released
Digital
Kat Hammer plays many different types of guitars, focusing on renaissance and baroque period instruments. The 13 tracks on this album include “Canarios,” “Toccata Arpeggiata,” “Sarabande in C” and “Caprice de Chaconne.”
kathammer.weebly.com
HIGH LEVEL TRIO
NAVIGATIONS
Self-released
Digital
Three movements for string trio composed by John Estacio commissioned and performed by the High Level Trio: Ewald Cheung, violin; Ethan Filner, viola; and Julie Hereish, cello. This album was recorded at Bella Concert Hall.
www.highleveltrio.com
LAND’S END ENSEMBLE
JOHN CORIGLIANO AND VINCENT HO
Naxos Records
CD / Digital
John Corigliano’s “Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan,” version for soprano and chamber ensemble, is coupled with Vincent Ho’s “Gryphon Realms,” a virtuosic and mystical work for piano trio.
www.landsendensemble.ca
EMILIE CECILIA LEBEL
LANDSCAPES OF MEMORY
Redshift Records
CD / Digital
Juno-nominated composer LeBel here presents solo piano music performed by Luciane Cardassi and Wesley Shen accompanied by e-bow drone, recorded at the Betty Andrews Recital Hall and supported by MacEwan University, where LeBel teaches.
www.emilielebel.ca
JAN LISIECKI
PRELUDES
Deutsche Grammophon
Vinyl / CD / Digital
This star pianist from Calgary brings the prelude to life. Frédéric Chopin’s 24 Préludes op. 28 are the centrepiece here, with preludes by other composers over three centuries.
www.janlisiecki.com
LUIGI MAGISTRELLI
ARCHER: FOUR SHORT PIECES FOR SOLO CLARINET
Halidon
Digital
Compositions by Violet Archer, Alberta’s pre-eminent composer, played by an Italian clarinet soloist.
www.luigimagistrelli.it
JARRED NICKLEN
MIDNIGHT PIANO
Self-released
Digital
A new six-song EP of solo piano music, returning to Nicklen’s roots.
www.instagram.com/jarrednicklen
NYO CANADA
HORIZONS
Self-released
Digital
Each year, the National Youth Orchestra releases an album. The Horizons tour album with music director Naomi Woo includes Violet Archer’s Divertimento for Orchestra, parts I, II and III.
nyoc.org
PRO CORO CANADA AND THE AXIOS MEN’S ENSEMBLE
UKRAINIAN WAR REQUIEM
Cappella Records
CD / Digital
Composed by Benedict Sheehan and performed by Axios Men’s Ensemble and the tenors and basses of Pro Coro Canada under the direction of Michael Zaugg, this work honours lives lost in war.
www.procoro.ca
Folk & Country
ROBERT ADAM
GOVERNED BY THE SEASONS
Self-released
Digital
Adam’s alternative country queer love songs have been streamed over a million times.
robertadammusic.com
SETH ANDERSON
THESE EXACT DAYS, THESE PEACEFUL NIGHTS
Self-released
Vinyl / Digital
The Canmore-based singer- songwriter traces the origins of these songs to self-reflective days and nights during the height of the pandemic. The artist quit drinking and wrote songs daily.
www.sethandersonmusic.com
THE BOBBY TENDERLOIN UNIVERSE
SATAN IS A WOMAN
Country Moon Records
Vinyl / CD / Digital
Edmonton indie scene veterans, led by Paul Arnusch, stretch their influences by bringing together traces of outlaw country, psychedelia and spaghetti westerns.
www.bobbytenderloinuniverse.com
MARIEL BUCKLEY
STRANGE TRIP AHEAD
Birthday Cake Records
Vinyl / CD / Digital
With lyrical themes of queer longing and adolescent shame and an embrace of sonics more often associated with indie rock than country, Buckley’s latest album breaks new ground. The nine songs comprising it were recorded in Nashville.
www.marielbuckley.com
CELEIGH CARDINAL
BOUNDLESS POSSIBILITIES
Self-released
Vinyl / CD / Digital
The latest album from this Western Canadian Music Awards Songwriter of the Year was shaped by personal tragedies, including the murder of the father of her child and the suicide of a close friend.
www.celeighcardinal.com
CARTER FELKER
LOSER
Department Store Records
Vinyl / Digital
A self-deprecating and more autobiographical album than the story-songs he has been known for. Trumpet, synth and steel guitar feature heavily.
carterfelker.bandcamp.com
HERMITESS
DEATH & THE FOOL
Self-released
Vinyl / Digital
Jennifer Crighton’s self- described “freak folk” foregrounds her harp and her haunting voice. This collection of songs is described as a mix of family storytelling and pure improvisation.
www.hermitess.band
NOELINE HOFMANN
PURPLE GAS
La Honda Records
Digital
The 22-year-old singer- songwriter from Bow Island already has an impressive career, including recording a version of this album’s title track with Grammy Award- winner Zach Bryan.
noelinehofmann.com
MARTIN KERR
OVERDUE FOR A REVOLUTION
Nettwerk
CD / Digital
Outspoken UK-born and Edmonton-based Kerr’s latest is a collection of six original protest songs and six parodies covering war, fascism, genocide and corporate greed.
www.martinkerrmusic.com
BRETT KISSEL
LET YOUR HORSES RUN
Big Star Recordings
Digital
Born in St. Paul, Kissel has been a constant in Canadian Country Music and Juno Award nomination lists for over a decade. This album draws inspiration both from his youth and from his current life after buying his grandparents’ farm.
brettkissel.com
MIRANDA MARTINI
THE HISTORIAN
Self-released
Vinyl / CD / Digital
Multi-disciplinary artist Martini is perhaps best known for her work co-writing music for the musical John Ware Reimagined. The Historian is her first new album in five years.
www.mirandamartini.com
JOE NOLAN
LUV IN THE NEW WORLD
Beach House Records
Vinyl / CD / Digital
Produced by Grammy Award- winner Tyler Chester (Andrew Bird, Iron & Wine, Joan Baez), the 10 songs making up Nolan’s ninth album were recorded live from the floor.
joenolanmusic.com
SISTER RAY
BELIEVER
Royal Mountain Records
Vinyl / CD / Digital
Hailing from Sturgeon County, Ella Coyes has earned industry praise from NPR, The Guardian, Pitchfork and the Polaris Music Prize. Her latest album sheds much of the heartbreak she’s been known for, focusing on joy instead.
www.sisterraymusic.com
SMOKEY
BLEAK HERITAGE
Lonesome Records
CD / Digital / Cassette
The artist’s first full-length album since 2016 plays with themes of authenticity, wonder and horror, in a reflective look back at where he came from and a look ahead to the life he wants to lead.
smokeysings.bandcamp.com
BILLIE ZIZI
LEVITATE
Self-released
Digital
Zizi’s third studio album, described as a “love letter to the mundane,” features ethereal and whimsical Americana. The songs were written in 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic.
smokeysings.bandcamp.com
Rock, Pop & Indie
MAC DEMARCO
GUITAR
Mac’s Record Label
Vinyl / Digital
DeMarco has been a much- celebrated indie rock mainstay for over a decade with six full-length studio albums. While his previous album, One Wayne G, featured 199 songs, his latest is a more traditional, acoustic-heavy offering.
www.macdemarco.com
WAYNE PATRICK GARRETT
MARINE LIFE
Inner Ocean Records
Digital / Cassette
One part of a well-known visual arts duo with his partner Caitlind Brown, Garrett is also an accomplished pedal steel guitar player.
waynepatrickgarrett.bandcamp.com
BROCK GEIGER
SOME NIGHTS
Self-released
Vinyl / Digital
Geiger has been a touring member of Raleigh, The Dudes, Samantha Savage Smith, Chad VanGaalen and other collaborations for years, but this collection of indie rock and synth pop marks his solo debut.
www.brockgeiger.com
CASSIA HARDY
IN RELATION
Mint Records
Digital / Cassette / Zine
Previously releasing music under the name Wares, Hardy took a novel approach to distribution with In Relation. As a critique of petroleum-based forms of music distribution and streaming, she released the lyrics from this album as a zine.
cassiahardy.bandcamp.com
HOME FRONT
WATCH IT DIE
Las Vida Es Un Mus Discos
Vinyl / CD / Digital / Cassette
Post-punk Polaris Music Prize nominees are neither defeated nor defined by darkness.
arewenothomefront.bandcamp.com
JADE ELEPHANT
SELF-TITLED
Self-released
Vinyl / Digital
Winners of the YYC Music Awards Rock Recording of the Year. This classic-rock-inspired album was recorded by Russell Broom (Jann Arden).
jadeelephantmusic.com
JOLIE LAIDE
CREATURES
Victory Pool Records
Vinyl / Digital
Indie rock icon Steve Albini suggested that American singer-songwriter Nina Nastasia take on Calgary band The Cape May as her touring band. Together they comprise Jolie Laide, a quasi- supergroup.
olielaidemusic.bandcamp.com
LORRIE MATHESON
MISSION TO INGLEWOOD
Self-released
Vinyl / Digital
Matheson has spent years producing acclaimed records for Canadian artists, including Art Bergmann, Rae Spoon and Reuben & The Dark. His latest album is a showcase of every production, recording and songwriting trick he’s ever learned. The result lies somewhere between Prince and Spoon.
www.lorriematheson.com
TATE MCRAE
SO CLOSE TO WHAT
RCA Records
Vinyl / CD / Digital / Cassette
The Calgary pop phenom’s latest album topped the US Billboard charts and has since been certified platinum.
www.tatemcrae.com
MARLAENA MOORE
BECAUSE YOU LOVE EVERYTHING
Self-released
Vinyl / Digital / Cassette
The Edmonton-born indie rock singer-songwriter recorded this melodic, ambitious, heart-on-the-sleeve album in Montreal and Calgary.
www.marlaenamoore.com
NIGHT COMMITTEE
YOUR PLANS MEAN NOTHING
Self-released
Vinyl / Digital
Fronted by author Andrew Wedderburn (The Crash Palace) and made up of members of Hot Little Rocket, this band plays anthemic and lyrically rich post-punk.
nightcommittee.com
PREOCCUPATIONS
ILL AT EASE
Jagjaguwar / Born Losers
Vinyl / CD / Digital / Cassette
Featuring members of Calgary’s celebrated indie rock group Women, Preoccupations play dark, anxious and heavy post-punk.
preoccupations.bandcamp.com
STUCCO
LP1
Self-released
Digital
This cold and aggressive post-punk backdrops lyrics about late-stage capitalism and the politics of choosing to make music in a sprawling and crumbling metropolis and “corporate theme park.”
stuccoband.bandcamp.com
CHAD VANGAALEN
FIRST NIGHT OF SUMMER
Self-released
Digital
One of three albums this indie songwriter, producer, visual artist and highly accomplished animator released in 2025.
chadvangaalen.bandcamp.com
YVES JARVIS
ALL CYLINDERS
Next Door Records
Vinyl / Digital
The Montreal-via-Calgary singer-songwriter Jean- Sébastien Yves Audet, known professionally as Yves Jarvis, won the 2025 Polaris Music Prize. All Cylinders is a genre-defying fusion of retro-pop, funk, jazz, soul and psychedelic music. The artist was also shortlisted for the SOCAN Song Prize.
yvesjarvis.bandcamp.com
Blues, Soul & Hip-Hop
ALADEAN KHEROUFI
STUDIES… INSTRUMENTALS
Self-released
Digital
Instrumental versions of the classic soul, funk and rhythm and blues songs recorded for Kheroufi’s debut album, Studies in a Dying Love.
aladeankheroufi.bandcamp.com
AVENOIR
MIRAGE
Listen to the Kids
Digital
This is the debut full-length album from the Edmonton- based rhythm and blues and alt-soul artist with a distinct falsetto that’s been described as “Prince-esque.” The 23-year-old has already been nominated for a Juno Award.
www.mirage2025.com
THE BLUE
SO LOOK AT THE BRIGHT SIDE
Self-released
Digital
Hip-hop musician Hemen Tor- Agbidye’s third album features a who’s who of Alberta soul and rap artists, including ZENON, Tea Fannie and K-Riz, and charted on CKUA’s Top 30.
thebluexo.bandcamp.com
BLUE MOON MARQUEE AND NORTHERN CREE
GET YOUR FEATHERS READY
Self-released
Vinyl / CD / Digital
Inspired by the influence of Indigenous music on popular music, this collaborative album sees Cree rhythms, melodies and powwow drumming and singing woven into more traditional folk and blues.
bluemoonmarquee.com
MARK DILLON
SCARY TALES PART 2
Self-released
Digital
Released just weeks before Halloween, this four-song EP combines high-octane blues with ghost stories, scary children’s rhymes and lyrics about zombie dances.
www.markdillon.ca
CORBIE DORNER
EP
Self-released
Digital
Born and raised in Taber, Dorner works as a music program director at an Airdrie high school. His EP has classic and sparse soul played on piano.
www.corbiedorner.com
KTHECHOSEN
HBK
Self-released
Digital
Coined “Calgary’s friendly neighbourhood rapper,” KTheChosen has been hosting quarterly hip-hop community- building showcases at the Ship and Anchor. The latest album bridges his Zimbabwean roots with his lived Calgary experiences.
www.kthechosen.com
KINDÉ
LETTERS IN LOVE
Self-released
Digital
The young UK-born, Calgary- raised neo-soul and rhythm and blues artist recently received a YYC Music Awards nomination for this album’s lead track, “Dopamine High.”
kindemusic.com
K O D A E
SELF-TITLED
Self-released
Digital
A mix of silky smooth alternative rhythm and blues, gospel and jazz. The ethereal sounds and rhythms are paired with lyrics relating to nature and mysticism.
kodae.bandcamp.com
THE MISERY MOUNTAIN BOYS
SOMEBODY STOLE MY PEACHES
Mighty Peace Records
Digital
Falling somewhere between folk, bluegrass and blues, the band sounds like they were transported directly from a 1930s speakeasy.
miserymountainboys.com
THE MONK
NEO
Self-released
Digital
Sharing a similar neo-soul and funk space as the late D’Angelo, the musician known as The Monk is a prolific London-born Calgarian who in 2025 released multiple singles, EPs and this full-length album.
elasticstage.com/themonk
OLLEE OWENS
NOWHERE TO HIDE
Self-released
CD / Digital
Recorded in Nashville, the Calgarian’s second full-length album has electric blues that owe as much to Bonnie Raitt and Sass Jordan as the Staple Singers.
olleeowens.com
SARGEANT X COMRADE
POWER VOL. 1
Mo Gravy Records
Digital
This Polaris Music Prize longlist nominee is made up of the duo Yolanda Sargeant and producer Evgeniy Bykovets. The album, conceptually tied together by the theme of the power of the self, includes Calgary poet laureate emeritus Wakefield Brewster.
sargeantxcomrade.com
TENDAVILLAGE
THE TENDA DIMENSION
Self-released
Vinyl / Digital
Kate Melvina is the primary creative force behind the space-funk rhythm and blues of Tendavillage. Veterans Luis Tovar, Carson Grant and Barry Mason add drums and guitar.
www.tendavillage.com
MARCUS TRUMMER
FROM THE START
Gypsy Soul Records
Vinyl / CD / Digital
The self-described “young blood with an old soul” was a Western Canadian Music Award nominee for Blues Artist of the Year.
marcustrummermusic.com