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In A Mellow Tone
Join your hosts Natalie McGrath, Ian Mackenzie, Heavy Ben and/or Ron Steeds & Jim Reil for 2 hours of great jazz.
Hosted by: Heavy Ben, Natalie McGrath and Ian Mackenzie
Airs: Every Wednesday from 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM

Coming up at 9:00 PM on December 10th, 2025:
Multi-instrumentalist Thomas Chapin died at the young age of 40 from leukaemia. He left behind a rich legacy of music. He was the first artist to be signed to the Knitting Factory Records label. Tonight we survey his short but fruitful career on the Knitting Factory Records label that spans a relatively short six years. Ron and Jim are in the studio.

In A Mellow Tone

Date Host Highlight On Demand
Dec. 10, 2025 Ron Steeds & Jim Reil The Knitting Factory Recordings Of The Thomas Chapin Trio
Dec. 3, 2025 Heavy Ben Vinyl Sides 12 - Duke Ellington, Walter Boudreau, Elizabeth Shepherd, Roger Simard, Makaya McCraven
available
Nov. 26, 2025 Jim Reil and Ron Steeds Two hours with the brilliant and astonishingly prolific composer and musician John Zorn.
available
Nov. 19, 2025 Ian M Oscar Peterson's Centenary - conversations with two who played with him: Dave Young and Lorne Lofsky
available
Nov. 12, 2025 Ron Steeds & Jim Reil Jazz recorded November 12 between 1956 and 1983
available
Nov. 5, 2025 Heavy Ben and Ian M Support CKCU! Hear New and Independent Jazz!
available
Oct. 29, 2025 Natalie, Jim, Ron Playin' Favourites...
available

IN A MELLOW TONE INTRODUCES LISTENERS TO THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF JAZZ, FROM ITS BEGINNINGS TO THE LATEST INNOVATIONS. THE HOSTS DRAW ON THEIR LARGE PERSONAL CD AND LP COLLECTIONS TO SUPPLEMENT CKCU'S EXTENSIVE RESOURCES.

IN A MELLOW TONE was created and hosted by Ron Sweetman until he retired from radio in Septermber 2015. The program has been a weekly fixture on CKCU-FM 93.1 since May 1976. He was a founder member of L’Atelier de Musique Experimentale (1972), Jazz Ottawa (1976), and Music Now (1997). He wrote for CODA magazine and was a member of the Down Beat International Critics Poll.

IN A MELLOW TONE is now hosted by a rotating collective of jazz zealots including Natalie McGrath,  Heavy Ben, Ian M. and Ron Steeds & Jim Reil, plus occasional guest hosts. They intend on taking IAMT forward with the high standards of broadcasting that Ron Sweetman established for decades.

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