Allison Au is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

jazz saxophonist. She has been nominated three times for the

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

for Best Jazz Album, her second album ''Forest Grove'' won the Juno for best group jazz album in 2016.

Career

Au was born to a

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

father and a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

mother; her maternal grandmother is a

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

survivor. Au grew up in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

listening to her father's diverse record collection. She started classical piano lessons at age six and started playing the

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

in elementary school at Grade 7 at

Claude Watson School for the Arts The Claude Watson School for the Arts (CWSA) is a public arts school for grades 4–8 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. History The Claude Watson School for the Arts was founded in 1981 after the North York Board of Education proposed a school wit ...

. She graduated from

Humber College The Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, rebranded as Humber Polytechnic since 2024, is a public Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, college in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1967, Humber has three mai ...

's music program. She formed the Allison Au quartet in 2009. In 2022 she joined the Ostara Project, an all-female jazz supergroup led by

Jodi Proznick Jodi Proznick (born October 23, 1975) is a Canadian jazz bassist, composer, educator and producer. In 2019, she was named Jazz Artist of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards and has been nominated for three Juno Awards. She is a recipie ...

and Amanda Tosoff. The album was nominated for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year at the 2023 Juno Awards. The Ostara Project has toured Canada throughout 2022 and 2023, featuring other musicians such as

Laila Biali Laila Biali (born 3 October 1980) is a Canadian jazz singer and pianist. She has been nominated for and won a Juno Award and has worked with Chris Botti and Sting. Career Born in Vancouver, Biali began playing piano at a young age. She stud ...

Jocelyn Gould Jocelyn Gould is a Canadian jazz guitarist. Her album, ''Elegant Traveler'' was awarded the 2021 Juno Award for Jazz Album of the Year - Solo. She is also the 1st place winner of the 2018 Wilson Centre International Jazz Guitar competition. Sh ...

, Shruti Ramani,

Rachel Therrien Rachel Therrien is a French-Canadian jazz trumpeter, composer and bandleader. Besides trumpet she also plays flugelhorn. Winner of the 2015 TD Grand Prize Jazz Award at the renowned Montreal International Jazz Festival and the 2016 Stingray Jazz ...

, Virginia MacDonald, Valerie Lacombe, and

Marianne Trudel Marianne Trudel (born July 28, 1977) is a Canadian pianist, improviser, composer and arranger. She has collaborated with Chucho Valdes, Kenny Wheeler, Mark Feldman, Ingrid Jensen and David Liebman among others; as well as releasing 8 recordings as ...

. In 2023 Au released ''Migrations'' with the Migrations Ensemble.

Discography

* ''The Sky Was Pale Blue, Then Grey'' (2013) * ''Forest Grove'' (2016) * ''Wander Wonder'' (2018) * ''The Ostara Project'' (2022) - with the Ostara Project * ''Migrations'' (2023) - with the Migrations Ensemble

Awards

* 2013 Juno Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album (nominated) * 2016 Juno Award for Best Group Jazz Album * 2019

Juno Award for Jazz Album of the Year - Group Juno commonly refers to: *Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods * ''Juno'' (film), the 2007 film Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, a character in the book ''Juno of ...

(nominated)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Au, Allison Canadian jazz saxophonists 21st-century Canadian women musicians Living people Juno Award winners 21st-century Canadian saxophonists Canadian women saxophonists Canadian women jazz saxophonists Year of birth missing (living people)