The Hummers

Winnipeg's Hummers originated as an informal assembly of friends and musicians who underwent repeated personnel shifts until a stable septet assembled to capture their debut album during 1998. The roster reflected broad origins, with bassist Joel Klaverkamp arriving from the punk-funky Skingerbreadman, Mark Hoeppner bringing keyboard experience from the eclectic Buick 6, guitarist Craig Bjerring coming out of Tangleshack, Jason Banman and Matt Lawrence supplying drums and percussion, classically-trained Paul Durant adding a more out jazz saxophone voice, and Tyler Sneesby contributing turntables drawn from Farm Fresh plus further hip hop work on the Peanuts and Corn label. Although the resulting instrumentals wove together strands from every background, they centered on funk and jazz while making occasional detours into experimental territory.

The group issued three albums, each titled "Listen" yet presented in a different language. After the third album appeared in 2001, Durant and Hoeppner left, allowing keyboardist Mike Germain—formerly the lead singer of Banned From Atlantis—to enter the fold. Their departure removed certain prog and experimental tendencies, yielding a straighter jazz-funk direction for the remaining musicians. The revised lineup entered the studio in 2002 and completed Save the Jets.