The October Trio

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Primary Instrument: Band/ensemble/orchestra

The band was formed in late 2004 when its members were in Vancouver’s Capilano College Jazz Studies program, and it was hard to miss the chemistry between Evan Arntzen on saxophones, bassist Josh Cole, and drummer Dan Gaucher. Opportunity presented itself when the trio was offered a regular gig at rime, at that time east Vancouver’s creative music hub. The band recorded their first album, live at rime, using a minidisc player and two microphones. Their critically acclaimed sophomore album, Day In (Cellar Live), followed in July 2006. Co-produced by Canadian jazz icon Brad Turner, the album covers a broad musical spectrum, from the most intimate, subtle renderings to blistering grooves. Riding on the success of Day In, which was nominated for a 2007 Western Canadian Music Award for Outstanding Jazz Recording, The October Trio went on to perform at the 2007 editions of the Portland, Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton International Jazz Festivals. 2008 saw the band perform at the National Jazz Awards in Toronto and attend the Banff International Jazz and Creative Music Workshop.

During the spring of 2007 the trio began developing a set of new music with trumpet player Brad Turner in mind. Continuing to pursue the depths of emotional expression and improvisational freedom, The October Trio plus Brad Turner performed memorable and engaging sets at the 2007 Seattle Earshot Jazz Festival and the 2008 and 2009 editions of the Vancouver International Jazz Festival. These gigs culminated in the release of the critically acclaimed Looks like it’s going to Snow (Songlines, 2009) featuring Turner. June 2010 saw the trio head to the east coast to perform in New York (Cornelia St Café, w/ Ingrid Jensen on trumpet) and Boston for the first time, as well as performing at the Montreal and Vancouver International Jazz Festivals. During that tour the trio refined a set of new music on the road and headed back into the studio to record their 4th album.

And 2012 sees the trio return to the international stage with the release of New Dream (Songlines), an album that explores new musical territory while remaining rooted in the trio’s ideals of emotional expression and musical freedom. The band will be touring the album in eastern Canada in the spring, and western Canada and the US in the summer and fall.

Last Updated: February 25, 2012

“Their first set showed such an easy relationship between musical form and freedom �” it was, in many ways, a vivid example of the various strains that inform Vancouver’s jazz community.” - The Globe and Mail

  ”..artful and melodic songs… they have an accessible but evocative sound, with a propulsive rhythmic element and a grounded sense of musicality.” -The Montreal Gazette  

“This is a CD with a tangible sense of place. 3 and ½ stars” �” Down Beat Magazine  

“Looks Like Its Going To Snow has no shortage of strengths, from intriguing compositions to extraordinarily inventive players, but at its core it really is all about the ensemble.” �” Jazz Times

  “unmistakable chemistry and artistic purpose… Among the marvelous elements of 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

“The three musicians in the October Trio, who not so long ago attended Vancouver’s Capilano College Jazz Studies program (where Turner teaches) is one of Canada’s most promising jazz groups…The group’s 2009 disc, Looks Like It’s Going To Snow (Songlines), had the goods to please several crowds, from hardcore jazz fans to younger listeners open to different but engrossing music made by their peers.” - JazzBlog.ca

“An impressive aspect of the group is its collective maturity (all three are in their twenties) and cool playfulness… This is a group that hopefully has plans to make the rounds outside the Canadian borders.” �” Cadence Magazine  

“The Progress Suite serves to conceptualize the music and the approach of the band. Freedom and composition work in tandem and in juxtaposition. The melody sings a delightful song and then disappears leavening the field for Arntzen and Turner to set out again on the paths their imaginations unfurl. They do so in the lockstep of seamless parallel lines and by ricocheting off each other. Surprise springs up constantly. Lush and sparse, fragmented and whole, detailed ornamentation and scraggly linearity are clasped in indelible logic.” �” All About Jazz.com  

New Dream
Songlines
2012
Tracks: 1983, Wide, Do Your Thing, New Dream, The Park, Imagine It, Potential Bog, You've Been Flirting Again
Personnel: Evan Arntzen: tenor & soprano saxophone, clarinet; saxophone Josh Cole: acoustic bass; Dan Gaucher: drums. Looks Like It's Going To Snow
Songlines
2009
Tracks: You’re Trying Too Hard; Found; Springs; Flip; Give (Sydney Carton); Stutter Step; Looks Like It’s Going To Snow; Bird Colony; The Progress Suite; Wait.
Personnel: Evan Arntzen: tenor saxophone; Brad Turner: trumpet and flugelhorn; Josh Cole: acoustic bass; Dan Gaucher: drums.

Day In
2006

live at rime
2005

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