THE OCTOBER TRIO TO TOUR THROUGHOUT EASTERN CANADA AND THE US

Award Winning Canadian Jazz Trio Will Perform for the First Time Ever in New York and Boston

This June, internationally acclaimed jazz group The October Trio will set out to promote their latest CD, Looks Like it’s Going to Snow (Songlines), with the (no more snow) Tour 2010.

The band's third release, Looks Like it's Going to Snow once again features the classic sounds of the bass-drums-saxophone combo, this time expanded to include one of Canada’s most honored jazz musicians, Brad Turner, on trumpet and flugelhorn. Reviews have been more than complimentary:

“…unmistakable chemistry and artistic purpose…Among the marvelous elements of (Looks Like It's) Going to Snow is the way it easily and off-handedly incorporates funk and rock elements without becoming a collection that is dominated by a backbeat aesthetic.”
– Popmatters.com

Starting June 15^th at The Trazac in Toronto, the (no mo
re snow) Tour 2010 tour sees the trio performing in New York and Boston for the first time, further moving them beyond up-and-coming status towards a more visible place on the international jazz stage.

“The disc feels like a culmination and a celebration: a forever set-list crafted on the bandstand and then in the studio,” writes critic Greg Buium. “Everything acts as an invitation to open things up – sonic and emotional space – an unburdened framework for improvisation.”

Since they first formed in 2004 while were still in college, The October Trio has steadily built a reputation for their thoughtful yet adventurous sound. The released their first CD, Live at Rime, in 2005, followed by Day In in 2006. Their hard work and dedication earned them the 2006 CBC Galaxy Rising Star Award for best new group at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival.

In 2007 the band performed at the Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Seattle, and Portland Jazz Festivals. In 2007 and 2009 the group was nominated for a Western Canadian Music Award for outstanding jazz recording for the albums Day In and Looks Like it's Going to Snow. In 2008 they were invited to perform at the Canadian National Jazz Awards, and in 2009 they opened for Dave Holland and the Monterey Quartet at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival.

June 15th – The Tranzac, Toronto

June 16th – The Rex, Toronto

June 18th – Cafe Paradiso, Ottawa

June 20th – Cornelia St Cafe w/ Ingird Jensen (trumpet), double bill with Abbasi/Tarry Trio, New York

June 21st ­– Puppets Jazz Bar, double bill with Marcos Varela band, Brooklyn

June 23rd ­– The Lily Pad, Boston

June 26th ­– Montreal Jazz Festival

June 29th ­– Vancouver International Jazz Festival w/ Brad Turner (trumpet)

The October Trio is Evan Arntzen on saxes (Amanda Tosoff Quartet), Josh Cole on bass, and Dan Gaucher on drums (Fond of Tigers).

About The October Trio and Looks Like It's Going to Snow

The October Trio was formed in Vancouver in 2004 when all three members were in the Capilano College jazz program. The immediate chemistry led to a decision to focus on a deeper exploration of the sax trio format, but as Dan Gaucher puts it, "our ideas started out very music specific and have gradually moved more into conceptual and expressive/emotional territory." Two tours of western Canadian festivals grew the music and the band concept further. They won the Galaxie Rising Star Award at the 2006 Vancouver jazz festival and in 2007 were nominated for a Western Canadian Music Award for jazz album of the year (Day In, Cellar Live). In 2008 they performed at the National Jazz Awards in Toronto and played a sold-out weekend at Montreal's Upstairs.Jazz Club.

In 2006 they formed a mentor-like relationship with Brad Turner, one of Canada's most honored jazz musicians and certainly one of its most accomplished and versatile trumpeters, equally at home in the progressive mainstream and creative music (he appears on Songlines releases by Michael Blake, Dylan van der Schyff and Chris Gestrin). Brad produced Day In and Looks Like its Going to Snow, and all the compositions on ...Snow were written specifically for the augmented lineup. Good as the trio is on their own, there's a fine synergy at work here based on mutual admiration and a shared aesthetic, a finely honed approach that gives equal consideration to individual storytelling and 4-way conversations, formal concision and a more expansive, imagistic or cinematic approach.

Another thing that characterizes this music is respect for the entire jazz tradition, from New Orleans polyphony to the avant-garde - but not to the exclusion of input from rock and elsewhere. Josh Cole, the trio's main composer, cites Bjork and Wayne Shorter as major inspirations: "Both have the ability to make one small idea have a lot of impact. But upon further investigation of the 'one small idea' you realize that it's surrounded by some rather sophisticated concepts regarding form, phrasing and space. My observation was that by focusing in on one idea, and trying to give it a lot of weight, that allows for the performers to really emotionally invest and explore the idea at a level that might not be possible if you were to present them with a bunch of different ideas in one song."

Evan Arntzen adds: "We know each other pretty well now and when we play we can bring whatever experiences, musical or otherwise, into the mix and have it feel fresh and new. Anyone can speak up at any time, and since it's a fairly stark form of instrumentation, i.e. no chords, that makes it easy to do this." Brad Turner says simply: "For me as a trumpet player this project has been a rejuvenating experience, in some ways reminding me how I approached music earlier in my career. There is true sincerity in what these fellows do as a group, and a serious energy to how they distill their musical concepts."

For more information, visit www.theoctobertrio.com