Elizabeth Shepherd and Michael Occhipinti finally cut a record together. And it was one of my favourites of the year. Their version of Jackie Shane's Any Other Way is next on Big City's Best of 2022 show.

"I want people to leave my performances encouraged to live life without fear. I’m fighting my own fear up there in order to inspire others to go out into this fucked-up world." A song from Bruno Capinan @capinan_ is on our Best Of show.

Closing our Best Of show with the Thompson Egbo-Egbo Trio's version of Smells Like Teen Spirit. Thanks to all the music makers from our city's diverse communities for blessing our ears with so much great tuneage this year!

If you need help forgetting the hectic holiday season or just need to rest your mind, tune in to our first show of '23. We'll treat you to an hour of quiet music from a Belarus-born guitarist, a classically trained pianist who makes cinematic music ++ 5:05 pm

Five-time Juno Award-winner Excolevi eases us into our Chillout show with Take It Easy. And then a track from Rob McAllister's Finding Stillness album that "invites listeners to slow right down with its dreamy pieces suited for deep focus, meditation, relaxation, and sleep."

Good Fortune, a song that urges us to “let go, live simply” and “ease up on the gas,” is next on our Chillout special. Here's my interview with the artist who wrote the track: socanmagazine.ca/features/rappe… Hope you're enjoying the quiet music. Stay close for lots more laid-back vibes!

It's been a good 6 years since we heard from Denielle Bassels Denielle Bassels whose voice I liked the first time I heard it. She's releasing a song on Feb. 10th about the impact of small acts of kindness, and you'll hear Denielle telling us the story behind Little Bit a' Love.

Lemon Bucket Orkestra, the "Balkan-Klezmer-Gypsy-Party-Punk-Super Band," are next on Frequencies. Mark Marczyk will tell us about a song off their 2015 album which includes re-worked folk songs they learned from local virtuosos in Romania, Ukraine, Serbia and Macedonia.

Northern Touch dropped 25 years ago this year and went on to become one of the most successful hip-hop tracks in Canadian history. We're kicking off the show with the classic featuring Rascalz, Checkmate, Kardinal Offishall, Thrust and Choclair. youtu.be/SN6jcMruHfA

Next on Big City: Two of the shortest tracks we've played on the show ~ and they're both by Harrison Float features the LA-based, velvet-voiced singer Kadhja Bonet, and A View From The Sky is a tasty soul-jazz instrumental with an interesting story Harrison will tell.

So grateful to the man called Ron Nelson! He helped deepen my love affair with hip-hop via Fantastic Voyage, his incredibly influential and popular show that aired on CKLN-FM, and all the concerts he promoted back in the day. We're re-airing his conversation with Ismaila Alfa next

The legendary trumpeter and flugelhornist Guido Basso died Monday. Guido was a member of the Order of Canada, a founding member of Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass, and was a musical director for several CBC programs. A piece by Alison Young featuring Guido is next. 📸 Bill King

Tune in to Big City Small World with Errol Nazareth today starting at 5:05 pm to hear a track from Avi Granite 6’s new album “Operator” on the show! Tune in live in Toronto on 99.1 fm or stream online at cbc.ca/listen/live-ra…

Showing love to many local artists who've been nominated for The JUNO Awards on today's show. Tune in to hear: * Lenka Lichtenberg * Luna Li Luna Li * badbadnotgood * @AdriaKain * The Ostara Project * @_aysanabee_ +++

5:05 on a Saturday evening, and that can only mean one thing.... The Big City show is on the air! Come through to hear music by some of my favourite singers, including Shakura S'Aida and Elizabeth Shepherd, and a tabla track inspired by The Mahabharata.

Joanne Morra says "La Destinée is about how so many things that start out beautiful are often destined to a sad demise." Joanne will introduce the song before we hear it. I'll also spin a song from Shakura S'Aida's latest album. She's at TD Music Hall Massey Hall tonight.

Elizabeth Shepherd calls her latest record "a Frankenstein album that’s not like anything I've done before. "It kept me sane and grounded during a time of deep questioning.” You'll hear Elizabeth telling us how she made Three Things before I play a track titled Right Now.

Haida/Cree musician Kristi Lane Sinclair Kristi Lane Sinclair spent three years writing the 12 songs on her album, Super Blood Wolf Moon. It came out yesterday, and I'll spin a banger from it called Heartbites. And then, a brand new jam from brasstracks 🎺 featuring before we PANIC

Next: A track by Jocelyn Gould, whose debut album, Elegant Traveler, won the 2021 Juno Award for Jazz Album of the Year: Solo. Jocelyn, who's been called “a leader in the next generation of great mainstream jazz guitarists," wraps up a 4-night residency The Rex Hotel tonight.

The Composers Collective Big Band commissioned several jazz composers to write about the neighbourhoods and aspects of Toronto that inspire them the most. The Toronto Project just came out, and saxophonist Shirantha Beddage will tell us about his piece, Transit, before I play it