Canada’s most singular baritone belter delivers an insightful, vintage jazz-mode tribute to his late father, saxophonist William James Lightburn. The younger Lightburn tenderly weaves through eras—contemplating his dad’s time in the Quebecois music scene, his parents’ love story, and the contemporary gut-check of COVID death numbers—but comes back to the present with a determined life goal: “No more bullshit, only joy.”
Featuring Cindy Lee, Nemahsis, Wyatt C. Louis, and more — These Canadian artists all commandeered our headphones this year in a compelling way.