Aretha Tillotson — bassist, bandleader, composer, educator, and one of the most vital voices in Canadian jazz — has earned a 2026 JUNO Award nomination for Jazz Album of the Year (Solo) for her sophomore record, Kinda Out West. Released November 7, 2025 on Bent River Records, the album showcases Tillotson at the height of her creative powers: an assured, utterly distinctive musician whose compositions and bass work have already established her as a defining force in the country’s musical landscape. The JUNO nomination is the latest milestone in a career arc that has been building with extraordinary momentum — and Kinda Out West may well be the album that brings her to the world’s full attention.
The winners will be revealed on stage in Hamilton, Ontario at The JUNO Awards Gala Presented by Music Canada on Saturday, March 28th, and The JUNO Awards Broadcast at TD Coliseum on Sunday, March 29th, live nationwide on CBC and CBC Gem and globally on CBC Music’s YouTube channel.
Kinda Out West is a stunning pianoless quartet record featuring some of the most celebrated players in Canadian jazz: Ingrid Jensen on trumpet, Christine Jensen on alto saxophone, and Dave Laing on drums. The album was produced and engineered by Padraig Buttner-Schirner and mastered by Reuben Ghose. Tillotson’s bass lines form the bedrock of every track — at once authoritative and deeply expressive, anchoring the ensemble while giving each collaborator the freedom to soar. The result is a record of rare cohesion and emotional range: warm and wide-open one moment, searching and introspective the next.
The album’s eight original compositions span moods with confidence and ease. From the commanding opening track “Jill of All” — singled out by tastemakers as an essential listen — to the luminous “Lullaby to Those Before”, the evocative “Cricklewood Lane”, and the buoyant “Kinda Out West”, each piece reflects Tillotson’s gift for writing music that is structurally adventurous and immediately, viscerally felt. Drawing on the lineage of great pianoless jazz — from Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker through Ornette Coleman to Masada — the record plants a proud Canadian flag in that tradition while sounding like no one but itself.
“Kinda Out West is Tillotson’s second release, further demonstrating her exceptional abilities as an inventive bassist, interesting composer and inspiring leader. Fans of pianoless quartets ranging from Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker to Ornette Coleman to Masada will want to explore this territory!”
— Abe Goldstein, Papatamus Redux
“The music sounds live and alive, the sound quality stands out, the musicianship of the quartet is excellent, and the leader’s compositions keep one’s attention throughout. Kinda Out West will shake your speakers and brighten your day!”
— Richard Kamins, Step Tempest (Substack)
“Undoubtedly, we are hearing some of the most impressive work that the young Canadian jazz scene has to offer.”
— Thierry de Clemensat, Paris Move
“A highly satisfying release for serious jazz enthusiasts, and on top of that, it’s balanced pan-Canadianism.”
— Frédéric Cardin, Pan M 360
The JUNO nomination for Kinda Out West arrives at the crest of a career built on relentless artistry and a genuinely rare breadth of achievement. Tillotson — whose name is pronounced Er-ee-tha Till-it-son — has performed across North America alongside luminaries including Kris Davis, Walter Smith III, Francesca Remigi, Allan Chase, and Josh Rosen. In 2023, she toured as a member of the Ingrid and Christine Jensen Quintet — the very collaborators who would go on to anchor Kinda Out West — and the musical partnership clearly deepened into something exceptional in the studio.
Her debut album as a bandleader, Introducing Aretha Tillotson (Bent River Records), was a landmark release that arrived with both critical distinction and an innovative conceptual foundation: the record was composed drawing on interviews with intersectional women across arts disciplines about their experiences in arts institutions, forming the centrepiece of Tillotson’s master’s thesis, and featured the acclaimed saxophonist Allison Au. The album earned Tillotson the 2024 Western Canadian Music Award for Jazz Artist of the Year, announcing her arrival as a major creative voice with something genuinely important to say.
Beyond her work as a bandleader, Tillotson’s career as a session musician and touring artist speaks to an extraordinary range. She has toured with Universal artist Mick Flannery and served as a touring and resident bassist on the Broadway production of SIX, continuing that work in 2024 as the bassist for Mirvish Theatre’s acclaimed Toronto residency of the show. Few musicians working in jazz today can point to an artistic portfolio that moves so fluidly between the concert stage, the recording studio, the theatre pit, and the classroom.
Tillotson’s academic formation is equally impressive. In 2020, she was honoured with a Presidential Scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music’s Global Jazz Masters program, where she received an individual mentorship with legendary bassist John Patitucci and studied with Linda May Han Oh, Joe Lovano, and Danilo Perez. She earned her Master of Music degree in 2022 and today serves as a faculty member at MacEwan University in Edmonton, teaching bass and theory — ensuring that the next generation of Canadian jazz musicians has access to a world-class model of what commitment to the music can achieve.
“[The band] perform tight arrangements consisting of horns, guitar and drums, but the album spotlight remains firmly on Tillotson and her masterful bass playing. Her bass lines form the bedrock of every track, keeping the performance steady while the others are given ample opportunity to diverge into soaring solos, all anchored by Tillotson.”
— Edmonton Journal, October 2023
“Tillotson’s Introducing project is a thoughtful album with heft and might behind it from all the players, especially the bassist herself who sounds ready for anything and has embedded her personality in every track.”
— Rhythm Changes, December 2023
UPCOMING LIVE DATES
June 13, 2026 — The Basement, Saskatoon, SK | 7:30 PM
Summer 2026 — Canadian Jazz Festival Tour | Dates and venues TBD