REVIEWS
"a musician of extraordinary musical talent..." Jazz Queensland, 2004
"some of the best instrumental talent we got" Rave magazine, 1997
"innovative and accomplished." Courier Mail, Sept 12, 2002
"Toby Wren's guitar, almost keyboard like in its melodic lines was no slouch when fast & tight was called for." Pemberton Review, August 20th, 2004
"the composer revealed a high level of talent, rippling out high-speed single notes and the occasional well-placed chord" The Adelaide Advertiser, August 20th, 2004
Toby is an emerging force on the Australian jazz scene. His approach, while firmly based in the jazz guitar tradition incorporates multiple influences from the avant-garde to Indian classical music. Trained as a composer, Toby has had works performed by many of Australia's great orchestras and broadcast on national radio and his guitar playing keeps him in demand as a freelance player. In early 2005 he will be recording a CD with the Toby Wren Trio and touring nationally.
"I formed babel to play really complex difficult stuff. It was a way of stretching my playing ability and pushing the limits of ensemble playing. As it developed it became a way of testing unusual musical structures and approaches to incorporating improvisation in a very meaningful and structured way. I was very fortunate to be able to work with some amazing musicians, who stuck with me for the, literally, years it took to be able to play some of the material! These musicians have all gone on to be some of the driving forces in Australian music - Grant Collins is one of the world's foremost drumset artists (www.grantcollins.com), Nick Aggs is the leader of Afro-dizzi-act and the Neighborhood Groove Collective and Andrew Shaw is the hardest working bass player in Brisbane and the president of Jazz Queensland. All of them are exceptional in their own rights. This recording [fat lip 81] caught the band at its peak. We were helped out by an Arts Queensland grant so the whole process was a joy. The music couldn't have come together better, and the response has been terrific."
Please visit me on my website, where I have some more downloads, info, lessons and scores of my work and contact me if you want to talk music.