carolsawyer

The Natalie Brett Podcast

Arts EN ↓ 5 episodes

This podcast uses the LP ’Natalie Brett Quartet: Standards’, as a point of departure for a series of wide ranging conversations about music composition, creative process, improvisation, and interdisciplinary collaboration. The Natalie Brett Podcast is a collaboration between Carol Sawyer, Megan Tran, and Stevan Oostenbrug, and is created and recorded on the unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and Stó:lō nations, in Vancouver, BC, Canada. This project grew out of the Internship Program at the School for Contemporar...

Author

carolsawyer

Episodes

Episode 5: Imagination Again 04.03.2026 1:14:38

In this episode, named after Track 2 on Side B of the Natalie Brett Quartet LP, Carol, Megan, and Stevan reach the end of their conversation with bassist Clyde Reed. A wide range of topics are discussed, such as grant writing, improvisation in daily life, and tapping into what makes you unique.

Episode 4: Imagination 04.02.2026 1:05:56

In this episode, named after Track 2 of the Natalie Brett Quartet LP, Carol, Megan, and Stevan continue their visit with bassist Clyde Reed. The conversation touches on improvisation education at Simon Fraser University, whether composed or improvised music is more nerve-wracking to perform, and the impact of George Lewis on the improvised music community.

Episode 3: Mood Indigo 07.01.2026 33:10

In this episode, Carol, Megan, and Stevan invite bassist Clyde Reed to discuss Mood Indigo, Track 5 of the Natalie Brett Quartet LP. A conversation ensues about improvisation and community, performance mindsets, and playing improvised music as a group. Carol relates how she, Clyde, Kenton Loewen, and Lisa Cay Miller formed the Natalie Brett Quartet. Clyde shares his philosophy about making great m...

Episode 2: Good Morning Heartache 03.12.2025 48:18

In this episode, the song Good Morning Heartache, which is Track 4 of the Natalie Brett Quartet LP, leads Megan, Stevan and Carol into a lively conversation. Carol situates the recording as part of her larger visual art project, The Natalie Brettschneider Archive. A wide-ranging conversation ensues about the ubiquity of music everywhere and other topics. Carol talks about the making of the NBQ rec...

Episode 1: Cuando Vuelva a tu Lado 12.09.2025 51:06

In this episode about Cuando Vuelva a tu Lado, track 3 of the Natalie Brett Quartet LP, Carol Sawyer, Stevan Oostenbrug and Megan Tran talk about how the idea for the LP grew out of a visual art project. A wide-ranging conversation touching on child prodigies, improvisation, learning from mistakes, eccentricity, and the desire to create in general ensues. The NBQ LP was produced in a collaboratio...