Autorickshaw's music lies on the cultural cutting edge, as contemporary jazz and funk easily rub shoulders with the classical and popular music of India. Formed in 2003, Autorickshaw has become one of the most intriguing acts on the world music and jazz landscapes, garnering 2004 and 2007 JUNO nominations for World Music Album of the Year, winning a Canadian Independent Music Award in 2005 and a John Lennon Songwriting Competition Grand Prize in World Music in 2008.
“The ensemble consists of four of Canada’s most exciting and musically interesting young musicians: vocalist Suba Sankaran, tabla player Ed Hanley, bassist Rich Brown and exotic percussionist Patrick Graham. All four have achieved excellence on their respective instruments, and when their forces are combined, the results are “utterly unique and musically pioneering”. -Daniel Ariaratnam, The Record
Autorickshaw has toured extensively across Canada, including appearances at Montreal, Vancouver, Guelph, Calgary and Toronto Jazz festivals, Vancouver and Winnipeg Folk festivals, Glenn Gould Studio, Stratford Festival and the Sound Symposium in Newfoundland.
International performances include Joe’s Pub in New York City, the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Yoshi's in San Fransisco, The Stockholm Jazz Festival in Sweden and dates across India including Chennai and Bangalore, at the Congo Square Jazz Festival in Kolkata, and at the prestigious Jaipur International Heritage Festival in Rajasthan.
Widely reviewed and profiled in mainstream Canadian media, Autorickshaw has also been featured internationally, including on NPR’s Weekend America, in Global Rhythm Magazine and All About Jazz (USA); World Music Magazine (Italy), fRoots (UK), Rave Magazine and The Hindu (India); Deutschland Radio Kultur (Germany) as well as appearing at #14 on the European World Music Charts.
Autorickshaw is committed to their role as music educators through school performances, lecture demonstrations, workshops and masterclasses on topics as diverse as jazz improvisation, south Indian and western vocal and choral technique as well as percussion from around the world.
