New Dream

They roll effortlessly through a series of originals that give pride of place to the group arrangement, a free looseness and multi-improvisational roles to all three members, often simultaneously....This is a band to watch, a band to hear. The album shows them to have a sound well on the way to maturity, a music that combines the flair of freefire with the musicality of distinctive part-arranging. Check this one out, by all means.

The distinctly contrasted tones of the clarinet/sax, string bass and drumset allow for a transparent, tight sound made all the more legible by the trio's impeccable musicianship. They have perfect control of groove, rhythm, tone and dynamics....."Do Your Thing", in particular has many amazing moments in which the string bass and saxophone play complex, irregular melodic lines in perfect unison with little to no percussive accompaniment to guide them...."New Dream" is an album that will challenge no one's conceptions of jazz, but is none-the-less full of beautiful, sonorous music, and far too substantial to be termed 'smooth'. I highly recommend this album to listeners who like their jazz melodic and gently intellectually stimulating realms rather than raw, chaotic and intense.

...the music is exciting and cohesive. The Trio breathes as one on tunes such as "Do Your Thing", with Arntzen's lively soprano weaving around the thick bass lines and slippery drum work. "Imagine It" is a funky, bouncy and somewhat raucous take on a piece by The Dirty Projectors while the Trio reaches in to Bjork's song bag for the handsome ballad "You've Been Flirting Again." The interplay of clarinet, bass and drums reminds me of the work of Henry Threadgill with Fred Hopkins and Steve McCall in Trio Air (there's also an "airy" quality clarinet that may remind some of Jimmy Giuffre). Nothing is rushed, no cliches, an emotionally rich reading of the melody with solos that overlap. You hear that as well in "The Park", its circular melody line played at different times by each member of the band. The melody floats as the rhythm moves forward yet there is a dream-like quality to the piece. Cole's full bass tone fills out the bottom, allowing Gaucher to play at different levels, moving from soft fills to accentuating the melody. There's a funky feel to "Potential Bog", the overdubbed reeds playing a repetitive line that pushes against the "heavy" drums and Cole's booming bass....There is so much happening in this music it's easy to hit the "repeat" button and take it in again. One can hear the joy of 3 friends making music that is meaningful and fun. How pleasing!

...the October Trio finds a way to interact in a playful, spry way that makes these angular tunes light and fun to listen to...

“Since the rhythm section of bassist Josh Cole and drummer Dan Gaucher relocated to Toronto and saxophonist Evan Arntzen remained in Vancouver it was uncertain how this group would proceed to follow-up its last outing with trumpeter Brad Turner, Looks like its going to snow. To the point: with an even better album showcasing the ever-sharper chops of all three members, particularly the polyrhythmic and extremely sympathetic atmospheres crafted by Gaucher. Cole contributes three tunes including the hard-driving opener ‘1983’ which proves a focus for his relentlessly funky lines while Gaucher’s ‘Wide’ is just a gorgeous ballad for Arntzen to soar on. Covers of Bjork’s ‘You’ve Been Flirting Again’ and David Longstreth’s ‘Imagine It’ are both owned by the band in their interpretations which is all good for a group with no purist agenda but rather just pursuit of music that makes them happy to play. They are smiling on this one.”