Cat Toren

Influenced by the socially conscious spiritual jazz of the late 1960s, Canadian-born pianist and composer Cat Toren is known for her harmonically expansive, exploratory sound. Initially a member of the Juno Award-winning jazz quintet Pugs and Crows, Toren has garnered acclaim for her own albums, including 2010's Goodbye Farm and 2020's Scintillating Beauty with her Human Kind ensemble. Born in Vancouver, Toren studied classical piano growing up before discovering jazz in her teens, especially the music of Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, and Bill Evans. After high school, she earned her undergraduate degree in Jazz Studies from Capilano College in North Vancouver, British Columbia, and master's in Music Composition from the State University of New York at Purchase College. She has also studied privately with such esteemed pianists as Andy LaVerne and Sophia Rosoff. As a leader, she debuted with the independently released Cat Toren Band in 2008, followed by 2010's Goodbye Farm. She also garnered attention as a member of the quintet Pugs and Crows, who took home a Juno Award for their 2012 album Fantastic Pictures. Based in Brooklyn since the 2010s, Toren also holds a Sound Healing Training Certificate from the Sage Academy in Woodstock, New York. In 2015, she released the atmospheric, modern creative album Inside the Sun with guitarist Ryan Ferreira, bassist Pat Reid, drummer Nathan Ellman-Bell, and others. Two years later, she debuted her Human Kind ensemble with the eponymous Cat Toren's Human Kind, featuring her band with saxophonist Xavier Del Castillo, guitarist/oud player Yoshie Fruchter, bassist Jake Leckie, and drummer Matt Honor. The same group was showcased on 2020's Scintillating Beauty. The following year, Toren collaborated with saxophonist Yuma Uesaka and drummer Colin Hinton on Ocelot, the eponymous debut from their collective trio.
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