Ten minute tea with Afternoon Tea. Spend ten minutes with Afternoon Tea. In the time it takes to boil one kettle, and let one cup of tea steep, we will have your daily art + music fix covered. Take your afternoon break with our Afternoon Tea curators. Need an extra lump of sugar? One more sip? If you have five minutes more (or 10), we have one more hit.
Today’s tea + soundtrack + visuals curated by Patrick Smith.
Originally from Ottawa, ON, Patrick Smith is a saxophonist now based in Toronto. He has studied with Mike Murley, Kelly Jefferson, acclaimed American saxophonist Mark Shim and established himself as a gifted, in-demand musician. Smith is an active bandleader, currently helming his quintet, his trio 3-Oh and now his latest project, Pangea – a jazz fusion concept group comprising some of the top members of the Toronto music scene. They draw from the spirit of John Coltrane, reimagined in the 21st century and existing in the age of global connectivity. Featuring local heavyweights Darryl Joseph-Denie (Ahi, Listening Room), Kae Murphy (BADBADNOTGOOD, Whitney) and Jon Catanus (Erez Zobary, Diskarte), they are readying the release of their debut album for January 2025.
When forming Pangea, Smith aimed to combine arabic music, R&B/neo-soul, UK jazz and late era John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders and Sun Ra. The melody of the upcoming LP’s lead single, “Another Set,” is based on violin sections of old Arabic songs. In particular, it’s inspired by the way Johnny Abou Chacra of Kazdoura plays the saxophone and guitar. “Another Set” perfectly encapsulates Pangea‘s influences and captures the feeling of pushing through when you really want to quit.
Stream + share “Another Set” now:
I came to music because I was lonely as a kid. Everything I do is in the spirit of being connected with something bigger than myself. With this project, I realized as we were recording that me, Darryl, Jon, and Kae all have different ethnic backgrounds and have vastly different upbringings and listened to vastly different music growing up. I think that’s cool. Artists and musicians know this, but it’s just ridiculous that humans as a species are still killing each other over being different…in 2024. I called the project Pangea in that spirit of global connectivity and just really wanting to have an open mind to all musical and cultural ideas. – Patrick Smith
My choice of music:
Big Stuff – Billie Holiday
My choice of art:
Autumn Landscape with Boats (1908) Wassily Kandinksy
My choice of tea:
Ginseng Green Tea
I went with a song that’s been really intriguing to me lately. Big Stuff was written by the great classical conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein specifically for Billie Holiday to sing in 1944. This combines the most iconic jazz singer with the great mind of 20th century classical music. It’s a very strange song that I feel matches the general mood I’m in as we approach the winter solstice. I absolutely adore Billie Holiday, her artistry is timeless. The older I get the more her voice cuts right to my heart.
I’m a big fan of the Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky. The impressionists and the artists who came just after like Picasso and Kandinsky really run parallel to musicians like Ornette Coleman, Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane in terms of redefining beauty in art. This 1908 painting of an Autumn landscape really captures the mood I’ve been feeling recently this November.
Ginseng Tea is what I drink when I feel I need to just sort myself out and wake up. It refreshes the body and energizes the mind. I think these three pair well together for a 4:30pm experience as the sun sets in November.
Tea + Me 