Canadian saxophonist, composer and leader, Allison Au, is on her U.S. tour in celebration of the band's newest release "Forest Grove" which recently won the 2016 JUNO Award (Canadian Grammy) for "Best Jazz Album of The Year: Group." 

Allison Au -  saxopohone

Todd Pentney - piano

Daniel Fortin - bass

Fabio Ragnelli - drums

Wielding a warm, pliable but cutting tone, Toronto-based alto saxophonist  Allison Au (pronounced "ow") is a rising force as an improviser, composer and bandleader. Since assembling her quartet a decade ago she’s steadily gained recognition with a welcoming, interactive group sound inspired by post-bop idioms, Afro-Caribbean rhythms, pop music forms and  R&B cadences. 

The Allison Au Quartet formed in 2009, Au’s debut album, “The Sky Was Pale Blue, then Grey” earned a Juno nomination  in 2013, and her sophomore album “Forest Grove” seized the Juno for "Best Jazz Album of The Year: Group" in 2016. In 2019, the group garnered yet another Juno nomination for "Best Jazz Album of the Year: Group" for "Wander Wonder."  

Born to a Chinese father and Jewish  mother, and raised in the multicultural metropolis of Toronto, Allison was captivated by the unhinged freedom of Jazz in childhood. Her music evidences a mosaic of influences woven into a seamless and soulful sound, steeped in the tradition of Jazz but skillfully laced with elements of Classical, Pop, R&B/hip hop, Latin, and world music. The Allison Au Quartet has toured extensively in Canada and the US. Winner of the 2017 Montreal Jazz Festival TD Grand Prix de Jazz, recipient of the 2017 Halifax Jazz Festival Sting Ray Rising Star Award, and a 2017 Finalist for Toronto Arts Foundation Emerging Jazz Artist Award, the group was also 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.