5 albums for you from March and April 2026

Here are five Canadian albums that came out in the past handful of weeks:

• An Albertan makes his name on the Denver jazz scene
• The Ostara Project's young drummer drops a polished debut
• An artist puts out three albums in a day (here's just one of them)
• A titan of improv drumming electrifies his trio
• A vocalist from my home city meets a Halifax experimental collective

Bobby Wiens - Focus

In 2020, Alberta-raised drummer Bobby Wiens emerged from grad studies at the University of Northern Colorado with his debut as a leader. Now established in Denver with a young family, Wiens delivers a more expansive sophomore record. He composed all the material except a heartbreakingly timely Bob Dylan cover, which closes the tracklist. He opens it in a New Orleans-inspired duet with trumpeter Gabriel Mervine, "Go Back to the Beginning". Tom Amend plays a diverse role with piano, keys, and organ, from the St. Thomas-like calypso of "Sun Dance (for Al Foster)" to the freebop of "Hermann" to the organ ballad "For AJ". Bassist Seth Lewis plays a great blues solo on "Hat Trick" and keeps a joyful hookup with the leader across the board. Here's hoping Wiens, who played on my first album during his Vancouver years, can take the quartet heard here on the road. (CD & LP)

Valérie Lacombe - State of Garden and Shadow

Drummer Valérie Lacombe joined the Ostara Project to record and present its second album, and she's played Vancouver a couple other times alongside Laura Anglade and Sam Kirmayer. For her leader debut, she convenes three Montreal-based veterans to play her originals (and one Benny Golson tune). Camille Thurman on tenor saxophone and bass master Ira Coleman are faculty at her alma mater McGill, while altoist Caoilainn Power has been on the scene for 15-plus years. This chordless quartet is more straight-ahead than an Ornette-modeled one (or Bellbird); "I Found a Friend Here" has that Cedar Walton / Duke Pearson dance, while "Who's Afraid of Clarice Hana" has a wonderful medium pocket where Lacombe stretches out Elvin-style against Coleman's incisive bassline. When they finally swing out on "Later for That", they uncork excitement while keeping level heads. The release tour ends up at Frankie's June 4th with a band of locals. (Rhea Records, CD)

Gordon Grdina's Qalandar - Reza

That Gordon Grdina released three albums on the same day last month (the others: Ash with the Nomad Trio and Turnpike with Russ Lossing) is somehow unsurprising. Reza finds him playing solely oud, not guitar. It's dedicated to the late Reza Honari, who played the kamanche bowed instrument on this China Cloud live recording. Reza's son Hamin Honari is among Grdina's prolific collaborators and joins the group on percussion. Kenton Loewen's gently-boiling drums lift the unison melodies of Grdina, Reza, and Ali Razmi on setar, making for one of the most accessible records a newcomer to Grdina's music could start with. "Raghs Parvaneha" differentiates the drummer and percussionist, starting with Loewen's drum solo then featuring Hamin's rapid percussion. Qalandar plays the jazzfest's Innovation Series on July 5th (disclosure: I work with Coastal Jazz); they add vocals with Fathieh Honari as the fifth member, and Neelamjeet Dhillon guests on tabla. (Attaboygirl Records, CD & LP)

Nick Fraser - Areas

I've heard Toronto-based improvising drummer Nick Fraser live only once, when the Brodie West Quintet played Ironworks. Fraser has two previous bass-less trio albums with American saxophonist Tony Malaby and Canadian pianist Kris Davis. Areas is still kind of a trio record: Malaby growls above Davis' patient, precise comping, Fraser explodes them to the moon, and they explore soundscapes as Davis leans into dissonance. Malaby's lingerings on single notes span the full range of emotion, from a harsh foghorn to a ballad-worthy sigh. "Sketch 57" keeps a tempo as it develops, which is rare across the four main tracks. And on top of all that, John Kameel Farah joins the trio to make three more pieces out of electronically-processed captures of their playing. It makes for a sweeping statement that fans of another artist I heard once at Ironworks, Craig Taborn, would love. (Elastic Recordings, CD & LP)

Andrew MacKelvie's Many Worlds - Many Worlds

"Uh, it was raining, and that's a really important detail,"reedist Andrew MacKelvie speaks at the beginning of the track "What Lies Just Beyond?" in reference to surviving a major injury. MacKelvie is on faculty at Halifax's Creative Music Workshop, founded by the late Jerry Granelli; he writes in his liner notes about how the injury informed his practice of chance in experimental music. Many Worlds is an eight-piece ensemble with up to four horns, keys, harp, guitar, bass, and drums (plus plenty of percussive clapping in stereo). Additional guests include BC-born vocalist Meghan Gilhespy, whose academic career has landed in Montreal after time spent among these bandmates in Halifax. Gilhespy's voice is the second to read text on the gently looping "Testament", after Zoe Leger and before the stacked chatter builds. Many Worlds both rocks and serenades, all while talking directly to you. (Watch that Ends the Night Records, LP)