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 what is often called Vancouver, BC, Canada. This project grew out of the Internship Program at the School for Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University, and we are very grateful for their support.
The Natalie Brett Quartet is Carol Sawyer (vocals), Lisa Cay Miller (piano), Kenton Loewen (drums), and Clyde Reed (bass).
Listen on:
You can listen to the entire Natalie Brett Quartet LP on Bandcamp here: nataliebrettquartet.bandcamp.com/album/standards
For more information about the LP, and the related visual art project, the Natalie Brettschneider Archive, please visit: www.carolsawyer.net/natalie-brett-quartet/
For more information about the Internship Program at the School for the Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University, please visit: www.sfu.ca/sca/current-students/sca-internships.html
Thursday Sep 11, 2025
Thursday Sep 11, 2025
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 collaboration with musicians Kenton Loewen, Lisa Cay Miller, and Clyde Reed. It is available on Bandcamp.
Wednesday Dec 03, 2025
Wednesday Dec 03, 2025
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 record in collaboration with musicians Kenton Loewen, Lisa Cay Miller, and Clyde Reed.
Wednesday Jan 07, 2026
Wednesday Jan 07, 2026
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 music.
Wednesday Feb 04, 2026
Wednesday Feb 04, 2026
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.
Wednesday Mar 04, 2026
Wednesday Mar 04, 2026
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.
Carol Sawyer (she/her) is a visual artist and singer working with photography, installation, video, and improvised music. Since the early 1990’s her visual art work has investigated the connections between photography and fiction, performance, memory, and history. Her ongoing and expansive project, The Natalie Brettschneider Archive, was exhibited most recently at Calgary Contemporary in Calgary Alberta in 2023. A book about this project, titled Carol Sawyer: The Natalie Brettschneider Archive, was published in 2020 by the Carleton University Art Gallery, in conjunction with the Vancouver Art Gallery, The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, and the Koffler Art Gallery in Toronto. Sawyer earned an Honours diploma in photography from ECUAD, and a Masters in interdisciplinary arts from SFU, where she studied acting, music performance, critical theory, and music composition. She has performed extensively in improvised music contexts, and incorporates her singing voice into her artworks in performances and videos. The Natalie Brett Quartet: Standards LP (a collaboration with musicians Clyde Reed, Lisa Cay Miller, and Kenton Loewen) was launched in 2022/ 2023. You can find it on Bandcamp.
Megan Tran is a singer, songwriter, and storyteller based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Whether in the form of a poem, an essay, a story, or a song, much of her writing explores feelings of loneliness and miscommunication. She is currently finishing her final year at Simon Fraser University and hopes to continue doing administrative work for the arts community. In her spare time, she reviews music on her website MEG-COLLECTIONS (formerly Megan's K-Dreams).
Visit Megan's blog at collect.meganskdreams.com/
Stevan Oostenbrug is a queer interdisciplinary artist, songwriter, and event organizer based based on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples–Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations (Vancouver, British Columbia). Stevan’s earliest musical experiences took place in evangelical church settings, where he developed a deep sensitivity to harmony and the emotional resonance of sound. Today, his work remains rooted in a songwriting lens, using lyrical storytelling, rhythmic structures on guitar and other instruments, and expressive vocal techniques to create dynamic flows of tension and release. Stevan explores various media including mono-prints with eco-sourced pigments, gelli-plate printing, song and poetry writing, fibre arts, and installation. Stevan’s artistic practice touches on environmental relationships, gentleness, navigating interpersonal issues with mental illness, and collective action. Through creating physical and sonic artwork that encourage connectivity and gentleness Stevan strives to encourage a gentle resilience. A resilience that allows us to firmly support our values and provide space for others to learn and grow.