Muskox is a Toronto-based instrumental group formed to perform and develop the compositions of Michael Smith. Since its inception in 2006, the group has developed a unique ensemble sound drawing both from the diverse musical backgrounds of its membership, and the unusual instrumentation of banjo, vibraphone, electric piano, harmonium, double bass and saxophone. The music of Muskox is a challenging fusion of jazz, American minimalism, various folk musics, and progressive rock, with a focus on densely structured poly-metric pieces.
5 Pieces can be found as a phsyical object at Soundscapes (572 College st.) and other fine record stores, but for the time being the three eps exist only in digital form. Sorry - I got sick of assembling them. Stay tuned for an omnibus edition sometime in 2010, as well as a limited edition 7" collaboration with Bruce Peninsula. Neat!
Foot Locker at St-Andrew-By-The-Lake on Toronto Island
from the Bruce Peninsula 7" release show.
Debut performance in the Tranzac garden, August 6th 2006:
Hello, hopefully you can get back to me. i was just wondering if the show next week with the Hylozoists is sold out? im home for the holidays and it seems like it will be a amazing night.
Nice review in Now Magazine 'But the night belonged to Muskox. The church, with its warm, clear sound and hushed ambience, was the perfect backdrop for their nuanced, impeccably arranged jazz-folk tunes'
NxEW.ca is a new Canadian music group blog. We have 60 + writers across Canada (and a few in the U.S.). We welcome anyone who wants to write about Canadian music - including musicians, promoters, managers, etc. (We're not the CBC and we exist to promote Canadian music, so conflict of interest is not an issue). If you'd like to chip in on the blog or want to submit stuff for consideration for the podcast get in touch at northbyeastwest at gmail.com
Excellent that you were nominated as the best jazz act in Now Magazine 'A refreshingly unpretentious group of U of T grads who came together with an unusual combination of instruments to create an entrancing minimalist sound of their own, completely unbound by tradition'
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