Avataar - Worldview (Friday, October 29th on InSound Records)

Avataar is an award-winning world-jazz group featuring a cohort of some of Toronto’s finest jazz, world, funk, and pop musicians. The music is inspired by the deep musical traditions of India, Africa and Brazil, and is rooted within the framework of modern jazz. In an innovative marriage of ancient and modern, driving grooves intersect with cinematic atmospheres and soaring melodies, creating a fresh sonic experience.

The music in Worldview represents a logical artistic evolution for its leader, Sundar Viswanathan. The album is a musical commentary on the state of our world, on the pandemic, and on the inability of our leaders to lead with integrity, honesty, and compassion. While the actions of our leaders affected so many, some of the songs started as gut responses to the treatment of children, our most valuable and vulnerable citizens, and act as vehicles of catharsis for the composer. Song Song explores ideas of childhood nostalgia and memory, and the homesickness and saudade one feels when trying to recollect that song that’s just out of  our memory’s reach. Little Kurdi (for Alan Kurdi) is a lament and memorial for three-year-old Syrian boy Alan Kurdi, who washed up on an Italian shore, a victim of human trafficking; and Innocents (12/14/12) is a dedication to all those who were murdered in Sandy Hook in 2012, tragic victims of gun violence. Together these pieces comment on the honesty and fragility of children faced by a world of uncertainty and confusion created by adults.

Isolation during the COVID lockdown presented not only challenges but an opportunity for a great deal of introspection. The time spent alone offered a potential for creation and self-discovery, and a chance to see things from many perspectives. The fundamental message of this album is that all should have a place of safety, physically and emotionally.

1. Worldview 4:49

2. Ekkriis Spirito (Reclaimed Spirit) 8:34

3. Chrysalis (Emergence) 4:31

4. Innocents (12/14/12) 8:39

5. Song Song 6:15

6. Blue As It Ever Was 7:15

7. A Safe Space For Children (For All) 5:46

8. Little Kurdi (For Alan Kurdi) 10:03

Sundar Viswanathan - Alto and Soprano

Saxophones, Bansuri, Vocals

Felicity Williams - Vocals

Michael Occhipinti - Electric Guitar

Justin Gray - Electric Bass

Ravi Naimpally - Tabla

Max Senitt - Drums & Percussion

Aaron Lightstone - Oud (4)

Todd Pentney - Piano, Synth, Rhodes (1, 2, 4, 6, 8)

Worldview will be released worldwide on Friday, October 29th on InSound Records.

Allison Au Quartet - Wander Wonder (January 11, 2019)

"...engaging, carefully crafted jazz.”

- Glen Hall, Exclaim! Magazine

"Canada has found a new jazz ambassador!

- Lance Liddle, Bebop Spoken Here

Featured on the list “10 Rising Female Instrumentalists You Should

Know”

- Rusty Aceves, SF Jazz

Wander Wonder opens with ‘The Valley,’ a lush sonic amuse-bouche that features keyboardist Todd Pentney front and center on the Prophet Rev2 while the other band mates attentively weave in and out of the background. The following track, ‘Future Self,’ begins with a hypnotic vamp that eventually blossoms into Au’s angular melodic statements on the saxophone. ‘The Rest Is Up To You’ is an amalgamation of influences; a sort of Wayne Shorter-esque composition that also draws much inspiration from Brazilian pop music of the ‘70s. ‘Looking Up’ showcases some of Au’s strongest penmanship as a composer as it highlights the ensemble’s ability to transition seamlessly between rich contrasting sections.

The pensive ballad, ‘Morning,’ establishes an atmosphere of repose and calm as the instruments are slowly, yet thoughtfully layered in. The album continues with ‘The Lie That Saves Us All’, a contemporary swing tune of changing meter and harmonic textures. ‘Red Herring’ emerges as an exploration of asymmetric melodies and equally jagged counter parts deftly executed by the rhythm section. ‘Grounds’ serves as an eloquent interlude to the robust exposition ‘Force Majeure’ that showcases Ragnelli’s apt drumming sensibility in a concluding solo. ‘A Trick of the Moonlight’ is a fitting finale; a introspective ballad that draws inspiration from a novel by British author Zadie Smith.   

Juno-award winning Jazz Saxophonist, Composer and Arranger, Allison Au refuses to be defined. Born to a Chinese father and Jewish mother, and raised in the multicultural metropolis of Toronto, Allison found music as a young child. Exposed to a wide array of musical styles, she was captivated by the unhinged freedom of Jazz. Jazz became Allison’s lab for self-expression, exploration, and musical experimentation. Her work weaves a mosaic of influences into a seamless and soulful sound, a concoction steeped in the tradition of Jazz but skillfully laced with elements of Classical, Pop, R&B/hip hop, Latin, and world music. 

Au’s music transports you to a place where instrumentals ring bold and emotions run free. Melodies cascade and collide, highlighting Au’s gift for layering voices and rhythms. Her writing showcases the color and character of each instrument, while providing ample room for her band mates to push her compositions to new heights.  

Au earned her first Juno nomination for her debut album, “The Sky Was Pale Blue, then Grey” in 2013, and in 2016 seized the Juno for "Best Jazz Album of The Year: Group" for “Forest Grove.” 

Formed in 2009, the Allison Au Quartet has toured extensively in Canada and the US. The group was awarded the TD Jazz Fellowship Scholarship (2011), The Alfred and Phyllis Balm Scholarship (2012), and The Margareta and Benno Nigg Scholarship (2013) for three consecutive artist residencies at the Banff Centre.

Most recently the Allison Au Quartet has won the 2017 Montreal Jazz Festival TD Grand Prix de Jazz, received the 2017 Halifax Jazz Festival Sting Ray Rising Star Award, and was named a 2017 Finalist for Toronto Arts Foundation Emerging Jazz Artist Award.

Allison Au will be releasing Wander Wonder on Friday, January 11th, 2019.

Allison Au Alto Saxophone

Todd Pentney Piano, Prophet Rev2

Jon Maharaj Bass, Electric Bass

Fabio Ragnelli Drums

Produced by Todd Pentney

Recorded August 6-7 2018 by David Hermiston at

Inception Sound Studios, Toronto

Mixed by David Hermiston

Maststered by João Carvalho

1. The Valley (2:09)

2. Future Self (6:19)

3. The Rest Is Up To You (6:26)

4. Looking Up (5:09)

5. Morning (5:42)

6. The Lie That Saves Us All (6:04)

7. Red Herring (5:07)

8. Grounds (3:02)

9. Force Majeure (8:00)

10. A Trick Of The Moonlight (5:24)

www.allisonau.com