“the empathic Toren uses bold atmospheric abstraction and fluid melodies to mix deep human warmth with creative fire!”
Cat Toren is an award winning pianist, improviser and composer residing in Brooklyn, New York. Described as “vibrant, earthy and spiritual” (UK Vibe), Cat “uses bold atmospheric abstraction and fluid melodies to mix deep human warmth with creative fire” (Coastal Jazz and Blues Society).
As a bandleader, Cat Toren has released six albums under her leadership, most recently “Sea/Sky” (2022) a trio record of subtle allure featuring Josh Zubot and Katie Rife and “Scintillating Beauty” on Panoramic Recordings (2020). “Scintillating Beauty”received critically acclaimed reviews including five stars in UK Vibe, four stars in the All Music Guide and was included in Bandcamp Daily’s “The Best New Jazz on Bandcamp” list in October 2020. As a co-leader, Cat performs with several groups including the Vancouver-based JUNO award winning Pugs & Crows, and the avant-jazz trios Ocelot and TMT Trio.
Career accolades include a JUNO Award for Best Instrumental Album of the Year in 2013 and Western Canadian Music Award in 2016 with Pugs & Crows. She was an Artist Speaker at UBC in 2017 with a lecture entitled “Cat Toren’s HUMAN KIND: Music for Empathic Activism”. Additionally, Cat Toren is a respected composer. Premiers include “Gaea” for the nonet Orkestra Futura (Vancouver, 2014) and “Sleep” premiered by the Cassatt String Quartet (Maine, 2016). She is an Associate Composer at the Canadian Music Centre.
Cat holds a Masters in Music Composition from the New York State University at Purchase College and an undergraduate degree in Jazz Studies from Capilano College in North Vancouver, BC, her hometown. She holds a Sound Healing Training Certificate from the Sage Academy in Woodstock, New York. She has studied jazz and classical piano with highly respected pianists such as Andy LaVerne and Sophia Rosoff and composition with Dr. Lisa Miller, Pulitzer Prize winner Du Yun and Pulitzer Prize Nominee Laura Kaminsky.
See Cat Toren on Youtube in her most current project “Brooklyn Living Room Sessions”, a podcast celebrating the Brooklyn Improvised Music scene cohosted with saxophonist Ochion Jewell.