Autobahn is an ambitious collective trio of musicians who strive to push past boundaries, blurring the lines between improvised and composed music. Influenced by the sounds of luminaries such as Steve Coleman, Vijay Iyer and Steve Lehman, Autobahn incorporates complex rhythmic structures, soaring melodies and ambient textures to forge their own sound, while captivating audiences with their spontaneous energy. The trio is comprised of pianist James Hill, saxophonist and clarinetist Jeff LaRochelle, and drummer Ian Wright, who are all considered in-demand musicians in the Toronto music scene. Collectively and individually, they have worked with renowned musicians such as Danilo Perez, Brian Blade, Andy Milne, Chris Potter, Esperanza Spalding, Uri Caine, Rich Brown, Roberto Occhipinti, Geoff Young, and David Occhipinti, among many others. Formed in 2012, Autobahn has had the chance to perform throughout Ontario, Alberta and Quebec, as well as internationally at the Atina Jazz Festival in Italy. In 2014, they released their debut album, The River, garnering a very positive response in the Canadian music scene. In 2015, they had the opportunity to participate in the Banff Centre's Winter Musicians in Residence program to hone their artistic vision and focus on a new body of work. After many months of collaboration and weekly residencies at Toronto's Rex Hotel, Autobahn has recorded their second album, with support from the Canada Council for the Arts, at Revolution Recording in Toronto. This new release is produced by the great electric-bassist, Rich Brown, who brings a wealth of experience working with many of Autobahn's most significant influences from New York City. Their sophomore album will be released in the summer of 2016 coinciding with a Canadian tour of the Jazz Festival circuit.
Not to be confused with the band of the same name from The Big Lebowski (or the similarly-named British indie- rock / emo band, for that matter) this Autobahn is a trio of jolly Canadians who play 21st Century jazz. Not “swinging" jazz in the traditional Blue Note sense, the music of this bass-free trio of reeds, drums, and piano has really strong affinities with jazz--an emphasis on improvisation, jazz derived harmonies, and phrasing that borrows heavily from modern jazz ...
A jazz trio named Autobahn, from Toronto, Canada, with an unusual make-up--piano, sax and drums--is just asking to called “experimental" on their modernistic recording, Of The Tree. And why not? Eliminating the bass (the obvious missing link) makes for new atmospheres, and creates new spaces. Looking for comparisons, Momentum Space (Verve Records, 1999), a masterpiece of the sparsely-populated piano/sax/drums genre by free jazz piano legend Cecil Taylor, saxophonist Dewey Redman and drummer Elvin Jones, is one that comes to mind--a ...
"[A] bold trio with a Gestaltist synergy that...creates something even more spectacular than their already impressive parts."
- David Reed (Belleville Intelligencer)
Location
Toronto
Willing to teach
Advanced only
Clinic/Workshop Information
Autobahn has taught clinics at:
Humber College
University of Toronto
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