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.

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.”

The Allison Au Quartet has toured extensively in Canada and the US. Winner of the 2017 Montreal Jazz Festival TD Grand Prix de Jazz, the 2017 Halifax Jazz Festival Sting Ray Rising Star Award, and a 2017 Finalist for Toronto Arts Foundation Emerging Jazz Artist Award, Allison was also featured in SFJAZZ’s 2018 list of “10 Rising Instrumentalists You Should Know.”

Jon Maharaj is a JUNO award winning bass player from Toronto Ontario. He has performed with Emilie-Claire Barlow, Allison Au, Amanda Tosoff, The Tenors and Mark Masri. Jon was the bass player in the Canadian production of hit musical Come From Away from 2018-2021, where he performed over 800 shows for almost 1 million audience members. He is currently on faculty at Humber College and the University of Toronto.

A native of Invermere, a small town in the Rocky Mountains of western Canada, Morgan Childs has established himself as a first-call drummer for many leading Canadian and international jazz artists. Morgan has four recordings to his name as a leader, including his most recent, On The Street of Dreams, which was chosen by the Ottawa Citizen as one of the top-10 Canadian jazz records of 2016. Morgan has toured Canada, the US, Central America and the UK with Juno-nominated pianist/composer Amanda Tosoff, NYC bassist Brandi Disterheft, saxophonist Richard Underhill, guitarist Nathan Hiltz, pianist/vocalist Laila Biali, and pianist Robi Botos. Awards to his credit include three consecutive CBC Galaxie Rising Star Awards in 2006/07/08 with three different groups, as well as the 2009 and 2012 Grand Prix du Jazz at the Montreal Jazz Festival, with the Amanda Tosoff Quartet and Robi Botos Trio, respectively. Other notable artists Morgan has performed and recorded with include Zach Brock (Snarky Puppy), Phil Dwyer, Ingrid and Christine Jensen, Ian Hendrickson-Smith (The Roots), Mike Murley, and Pat Labarbera (Elvin Jones). In 2016, Morgan was awarded a Chalmers Prize from the Ontario arts Council, and a Canada Council Study Grant to study privately in New York City with jazz legends Billy Hart, Kenny Washington, and Jimmy Cobb. The culmination of his experience results in a distinctive, energetic, and musical approach to the drums that is steeped in the bebop tradition of his mentors, yet is forward-looking and diverse enough for the most contemporary of jazz artists. In 2018, Morgan travelled to Lviv Ukraine to perform at the Leopolis Jazz Festival with the Jake Koffman Quartet, as part of a delegation of Canadian jazz artists sponsored by the Canadian Embassy in Kiev. Morgan’s latest release is Donnybrook, Live at the Bassment, which is currently available exclusively on the Bandcamp platform.