New Dream The October Trio

• 1 1983 06:16
• 2 Wde 05:43
• 3 Do Your Thing 03:47
• 4 New Dream 05:01
• 5 The Park 06:11
• 6 Imagine It 04:03
• 7 Potential Bog 04:43
• 8 You've Been Flirting Again 05:17
• Total Runtime 41:01

Info for New Dream

Three years after their collaboration with Vancouver trumpeter Brad Turner, Looks like it’s going to snow (Songlines), the October Trio returns as a trio with a program of originals by all three members, as well as covers of a beautiful ballad by Björk and a typically quirky yet passionate Dirty Projectors rave-up. Formed in Vancouver in 2004 when they were students in the Capilano College jazz program, the Trio has been together only occasionally since Snow, Gaucher and then Cole having moved to Toronto. But, as New Dream demonstrates, the group vibe is as strong as ever. And their music, which has always been more about communicating with their peers than polishing their jazz cred, has gained a new breadth and maturity from their work as leaders of their own bands, as well as from experiences playing with musicians on the cusp of the jazz world or outside it (Fond of Tigers, Sandro Perri and Hugh Marsh for example).

Beyond the effect of rock or hip hop rhythmic feels (always given a fine polyrhythmic lift in Dan’s remarkable drumming) and the way each song’s strong sense of melody and narrative offers the immediacy and direct access typical of popular music, this is a group that always honors the expressive freedom of jazz. Says Josh: “Of late we’ve been getting away as much as possible from writing chord symbols, and the Trio is a relatively open concept in terms of what can happen in any given song. We’ll always be the kind of musicians who play really open and free.” Evan adds: “For me this band is an exercise in experimentation and melding different musical styles. I come from way more of an old school jazz approach than either Josh or Dan, and they’re both way more plugged into contemporary music of all styles than I am. That said, I think we all have a lot in common in terms of taste and how music sounds, and we all appreciate what each other has to bring to the crazy mix.” Central in fact to the October Trio’s sound are Evan’s singing lines (even when they’re twisting/angular) and his vocal approach to articulation, absorbed from a young age studying trad clarinet with his grandfather Lloyd Arntzen. Dan comments: “The Bjork tune is a way for us to get as close as we might to having a singer, I know we all hear her voice when we play that song.”

And with this band it’s definitely about saying something, setting up dialogues with each other and with their listeners. Josh again: “The biggest thing you’ll notice about New Dream is I think we’re learning how to make ‘bright’ music that still has emotional depth. For me that has always been something really challenging. But after the sombre tone of the last record we made a conscious effort to build a body of music that had more of a bright, ‘aggressiveness’ energy. I think also we’re talking about very different subject matter than that of the last record. Snow was talking a lot about family, and loss, and was very introspective to the self. New Dream is very outward looking, dealing with the world in its current state, and trying to have a positive effect on it.” Uh, could you expand on that? “I guess we’ve found it difficult to express in words what we desire New Dream to communicate without it sounding naïve, or lacking in sincerity. Which is why we decided to avoid an artist statement in the CD. It’s not that we don’t have a clear idea – we do, but every time we try to put it on paper it either sounds cheesy, or too academic or formal, which takes away from the re-discovery of innocence or youthful energy that we feel is important to the concept of New Dream. It’s almost like you need to sit down with us, get to know us, and have us explain it to you in order for it to be made clear.”

“This release leaps to the ear with melody, groove, intelligence, and a heaping dose of personality....Among the marvelous elements is the way it easily and off-handedly incorporates funk and rock elements without becoming a collection that is dominated by a backbeat aesthetic.” (Will Layman, PopMatters.com)

***1/2 “The interplay between the dark, rich melodies and the rhythmic material Cole and drummer Dan Gaucher work with gives the recording its depth...a CD with a tangible sense of place.” (James Hale, DownBeat)

“...Excellent....Snow has no shortage of strengths, from intriguing compositions to extraordinarily inventive players, but at its core it really is all about the ensemble.” (Michael J. West, JazzTimes)

Evan Arntzen, Tenor & Soprano Sax, Clarinet
Josh Cole, Bass
Dan Gaucher, Drums

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.

Booklet for New Dream