Looking for books or records as holiday gifts? Don’t forget Ottawa-Gatineau authors and musicians.
The BUZZ asked independent stores in and near Centretown for their recommendations for new local releases which they will be stocking for Christmas.
Jim Sherman,
Perfect Books (258A Elgin Street)
Sherman immediately recommended Phil Jenkins, who has just released As I Walk About, a collection of his Ottawa Citizen columns chronicling his walks around Ottawa, as well as a 25th anniversary edition of An Acre of Time, about the history of LeBreton Flats.
Want to learn even more about our city? Sherman suggested Lost Ottawa (volumes 1 and 2) by David McGee, and the two Ottawa Rewind books by Andrew King, collections of Ottawa curiosities and mysteries.
In local fiction, he suggested 2020 releases by Frances Itani (The Company We Keep), and by local mystery writers Ron Corbett and Brenda Chapman.
Corbett’s Mission Road is about a 21st century diamond rush, while Chapman’s Closing Time is set in an Ontario wilderness lodge.
For children, Sherman recommended the picture books Perfect Pigeons by Katherine Battersby, and Pocket Mommy by Rachel Eugster.
Greg Cameron,
Octopus Books (116 Third Avenue)
Cameron recommended Songs for the End of the World by Saleema Nawaz, which looks at people’s reaction to a fictional pandemic. He also recommended Jenkins, Itani, and Andrew King.
For poetry lovers, he suggested Walking on the Beaches of Temporal Candy by Christian McPherson, which was launched at Octopus this fall.
And for children, he recommended Pierre & Paul: Avalanche!, a bilingual book for 5 to 8 year olds by Caroline Adderson, which was illustrated by Ottawa artist Alice Carter.
Ian Boyd,
Compact Music (785 Bank Street)
Boyd recommended a wide range of recent local CDs:
Tony D: Speak no evil, a collection of instrumentals from the guitarist’s 25-year history
Lynn Miles: We’ll look for stars, a collection of confessional solo songs by the Centretown resident. “I just love Lynn.” He also noted that Miles only sells her collection Winter in December.
Lynne Hanson: Just words. “Another immaculate talent in Ottawa. A genius.”
Paul Weber: Ode to Gerry Barber. Songs about Ottawa communities, people, and history.
The Victor Nesrallah and Danny Artuso Project: Wearing the Blues. Ten songs in the tradition of the blues, with guest vocals by Lynne Hanson.
Area Resident: Jardinova. What CBC Ottawa traffic specialist Doug Hempstead writes and plays at night.
John Allaire: The Allaire Show Live at Quinn’s, bringing back the vibe of his regular pre-pandemic Saturday matinées.
The NAC Orchestra, conducted by Alexander Shelley: Clara – Robert – Johannes. Music by Clara and Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms, along with five improvisations by pianist Gabriela Montero based on themes from Clara Schumann’s work.
John Thompson,
The Record Centre (1099 Wellington Street West)
Thompson recommended three recent releases, which he’ll be carrying in vinyl:
Cinephonic: Les Paradis Artificiels. This is the latest record from Pierre Chretien (of The Souljazz Orchestra and the Atlantis Jazz Ensemble), which draws inspiration from classic French film and adds orchestral jazz, cinematic soul, and instrumental hip-hop. Thompson said he particularly enjoyed Chretien’s Mellotron playing.
Downchild Blues Band: Live at the Toronto Jazz Festival, This is the band’s 50th anniversary CD, which also features guests Dan Aykroyd, Paul Shaffer, and David Wilcox. Devoted fans can buy the limited edition in gold vinyl.
Ian Tamblyn: Magnetic North. This is the first vinyl release of this JUNO-nominated album, and the only 2020 release on the store’s own record label. It was produced (with considerable difficulty) from Tamblyn’s original master tapes and features the original cover art. The music combines more traditional instruments with field recordings from northern Canada of sounds ranging from throat singers, to water and tides, to whales and walruses. Thompson said he loved listening to the original 1990 cassette on road trips.
The store will do a live video release, including an interview with Tamblyn, on Saturday, December 12.
Ottawa jazz
As the former editor of the news site OttawaJazzScene.ca, I covered many fine local jazz artists. Here are a few who have released albums this year.
- Alex Moxon: The Alex Moxon Quartet
- Numinosity (Jesse Stewart, David Mott, Justin Gray): Spectrum
- Modasaurus: 4K
- Rachel Beausoleil: Brazz
- Stone Age Man: Handbook for the Recently Chaotic
- The Prime Rib Big Band: Choice Cuts
And finally, Montreal’s Justin Time Records has released another in its series of upbeat Christmas jazz CDs: Justin Time For Christmas Six, with performances from Canadian jazz musicians including Oliver Jones, Ranee Lee, and Susie Arioli.
Undoubtedly The BUZZ has missed many other local and Canadian releases. Check local stores to find more.