out on 12.12.2025 on Liot Soc Records
Lit Soc’s first catalogue number has been bestowed upon Words Underlined a diverse yet pensive trio record led by saxophonist and composer Patrick Smith and featuring two other gifted young locals—guitarist Dan Pitt (of Arid Landscapes and Dan Pitt Quintet) and drummer Lowell Whitty (collaborator to Karen Ng, Kevin Breit, Robin Hatch, Leland Whitty (BADBADNOTGOOD), and Jane Bunnett). Due out this Friday (December 12) on CD and digitally, it showcases these musicians’ open-ended vision of jazz as well as their nimble, spontaneous musicianship. Featuring a blend of Smith’s original compositions and fully improvised group and solo pieces, the material serves up everything from energetic post-bop to intimate ballads, electronics-tinted ambient works to tense, exploratory fusion.
Since 2015—four years after its opening—Toronto bookstore Sellers and Newell has become a destination for curious listeners. With numerous venues closing that year, owner Peter Sellers decided he would try hosting a single one-off
concert to see what would happen. Almost 500 shows later, the Little Italy shop is now one of the city’s most beloved performance spaces, known for its intimate sonics and quiet, attentive audiences. This fact, coupled with their policy of giving 100% of proceeds to the artist, means their calendar books up months in advance, attracting artists from across the country and abroad. The store has hosted the likes of cellist Peggy Lee, Lori Freedman, Lina Allemano, John Oswald, Rob Clutton, Nick Fraser, Grammy-nominated bassist Stephan Crump, Canadian jazz legend Don Thompson, acclaimed French bassist Théo Girard, and Kepler Trio.
The store’s new imprint Lit Soc Records is an extension of this impulse. Over time, musicians had started asking to use the shop for video and audio recordings. For them, it seemed the only logical thing to do was to create an independent record label. Fitting that Lit Soc’s 001 catalogue number is assigned to a trio record by a musician who has become a central figure within Toronto’s young jazz and improvised music circles, Patrick Smith. Words Underlined features the saxophonist alongside guitarist Dan Pitt and drummer Lowell Whitty and was recorded live off the floor at Sellers and Newell. It interleaves original Smith-penned compositions with improvisations (both solo and collective), traversing various expressions of jazz.
Given Smith’s literacy in different musical forms, this comes as no surprise. He has worked alongside local experimental jazz and improv mainstays like Mark Hundevad, Mike Gennaro, and Andrew Furlong in the Archives of Eternity, yet he also leads fusion outft Pangaea, an energetic band featuring Jon Catanus (Erez Zobary, Diskarte), on drums and Kae Murphy (collaborator to BADBADNOTGOOD), Darryl Joseph-Denie (Ahi, Listening Room) that orbits the intersection where Coltrane, the current wave of UK Jazz, and Neo-Soul meet. There’s also 3-Oh, his “chordless” foray where he’s flanked by Toronto bassist Chris Banks and Whitty on drums. Together, they reimagine a repertoire that includes everyone from Pharoah Sanders to Billie Eilish, while also playing original tunes. Smith has also been heard alongside Order of Canada Recipient Dave Young, Juini Booth (bassist for McCoy Tyner and Tony Williams), Yemen Blues, Heavyweights Brass Band, Eighth Street Orchestra, and as a member of the Dan Pitt Quintet.
Words Underlined is in many ways an exceptionally varied affair. Where a cut like “I’ve Found A New Nemesis” shows a deep fondness for the vigour of bebop and early Ornette Coleman—the three of them engage in joyous, swinging banter, at the end of the fnal track “Grass In Summer” Smith’s playing recalls Arve Henriksen’s gorgeous whispery delivery, but translated from trumpet to saxophone. Pitt even provides sumptuous processed guitar pads with Whitty fluttering dreamily. Yet this impression of eclecticism is superseded by the through-lines that permeate the disc. The connections between Smith and company’s ostensible assortment of guises are generously illuminated over its course.
The decidedly unassertive opener “Hazel” brings warm spaciousness rather than virtuosic urgency in a move that reveals something fundamental about Smith and his compatriots on this record. It’s a certain amiability and melodic candour that they share with groups like Paul Motian’s Trio with Joe Lovano and Bill Frisell, the band found on Pat Metheny’s 80/81, or the late 70’s collaborations between Bill Connors and Jan Garbarek. Even when things venture further “out” or get more agitated, such as on the two ensuing “Banff” pieces, there’s a palpable tenderness beneath it all. The open-ended quality of “Hazel” also resurfaces on multiple occasions throughout, perhaps most clearly in collective improvisations “Poseidon Rising,” “End Of The Road,” and the aforementioned “Grass In Summer,” the frst and last of which underline this sense through Pitt’s use of electronics. Yet “As Years Go By,” one of the fve tunes Smith has crafted, sees Whitty taking an ethereal approach behind the kit, atop which Pitt and Smith spin a surging lyricism that culminates in an elegant showcase for the latter. This soloistic climax from Smith reconciles ardor and restraint; he pushes into a subtle growl and tumbles gracefully through ornamental swoops all the while tracing broad, unhurried phrases.
Words Underlined is a gently powerful album that fnds a distinct sound amidst seemingly contradictory ingredients. Embracing both experimentation and deep roots in tradition, the improvised and composed, the noisy and melodic,
rhythm as well as weightless drift, it offers a compelling portrait of these three vital artists, while somehow eloquently articulating the present moment in jazz.
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photo: Neirynck Guerrero
Originally from Ottawa, Patrick Smith holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Jazz Performance (BMus with Honours) from the University of Toronto. During his time there, he was presented with the Ann and Wallace McCoy Renewable Scholarship and upon graduation was awarded the SUBA Institute Award for Performance Excellence. Outside of his formal education, Smith traveled to New York to study with internationally acclaimed American saxophonist Mark Shim and in the past has studied under key jazz instigators Mike Murley, Kelly Jefferson and Tony Malaby. He has extensively toured Canada, the US, and Europe with the likes of Erez Zobary, Legends of Motown (featuring Michael
Dunston and Gary Beals), My Son The Hurricane, Chelsea McBride’s Socialist Night School and Forever Seger and hasappeared at the Toronto Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, Mariposa Folk Festival, Starbelly Jam, Wapiti Festival, Hamilton’s Something Else! Festival and many more. In fall 2017 Smith spent six weeks on an artistic retreat in Copenhagen performing with the Danish drummer and cymbal craftsman Lasse Funch culminating in a performance at the beloved Christiania Jazzklub. In addition to receiving favourable coverage beginning at the young age eighteen from noted jazz critic Peter Hum (the Ottawa Citizen), Keith Black of the Winnipeg Free Press once enthused of his playing that “Smith’s tenor can growl or soar as the mood demands.” The WholeNote’s Ted Parkinson, meanwhile, has also variously applauded his “fabulous textures” and “ripping tenor sax solo.”
Toronto-based guitarist and composer Dan Pitt has performed across Canada and the USA and his music has been reviewed and broadcasted worldwide. Leader of an eponymous trio (featuring Alex Fournier on bass and beloved drummer Nick Fraser) and quintet (this trio plus woodwinds courtesy of Naomi McCarroll-Butler and Patrick Smith) he has also had the opportunity to work with noteworthy artists such as Pat Collins, David Braid, Terry Promane, Andrew Downing, Dave Young, Terry Clarke, Lina Allemano, Tim Berne and Michael Attias. Pitt holds a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance Jazz from the University of Toronto. His mentors both within and beyond the school have included such revered artists as David Restivo, Geoff Young, Jim Lewis, Terry Promane, Mike Murley, Phil Nimmons. Brad Shepik, Tony Malaby, Ben Monder and David Torn. The year of his graduation, he was presented the Stingray Rising Star Award as part of the Jazz Youth Summit at the Ottawa Jazz Festival.
Drummer Lowell Whitty has been an active musician in Toronto’s vibrant music scene for nearly two decades. He leads a number of his own projects, is a founding member of the Heavyweights Brass Band and has performed in 17 productions with Soulpepper Theatre Company in both Toronto and New York City. Lowell has recorded with Karen Ng, Sugar Brown, Kevin Breit, Robin Hatch, Leland Whitty (BADBADNOTGOOD), King Cardiac, Jane Bunnett and David Clayton Thomas.
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PATRICK SMITH – WORDS UNDERLINED
Out: December 12th, 2025
Label: Lit Soc Records (CD/DL)
Genres: Jazz
Tracklist:
1. HAZEL (5:58)
2. BANFF (intro) (1:17)
3. BANFF (4:24)
4. POSEIDON RISING (3:21)
5. I’VE FOUND A NEW NEMESIS (intro) (0:55)
6. I’VE FOUND A NEW NEMESIS (3:21)
7. AS YEARS GO BY (intro) (1:49)
8. AS YEARS GO BY (4:05)
9. END OF THE ROAD (2:55)
10. STRENGTH (4:28)
11. GRASS IN SUMMER (5:38)
Line up:
Patrick Smith — saxophones; Dan Pitt — guitar; Lowell Whitty — Drums
All compositions by Patrick Smith except for improvised selections: Banff (Intro): Dan Pitt; I’ve Found a New Nemesis (Intro): Lowell Whitty; As Years Go By (Intro): Patrick Smith; Poseidon Rising/ End of the Road/ Grass in Summer: Patrick Smith, Lowell Whitty, Dan Pitt.
Engineered & Mixed by Tom Upjohn, Recorded at Sellers and Newel with generous support. Mastered by Justin Gray. Artwork by Kendra Boyles.