Pianist/composer François Bourassa, leader of one of Canada’s most celebrated jazz ensembles for the past 22 years, will make a rare New York appearance performing in a trio with saxophonist André Leroux and bassist Miles Perkin on Wednesday, Nov. 9th at The Jazz Gallery. Bourassa’s music is distinguished by a pronounced European sensibility and approach to harmonics, improvisation and performance that links him stylistically closer to Paul Bley than to other Canadian jazz pianists with a more blues-oriented sound like Oscar Peterson, Oliver Jones and Diana Krall.
General admission tickets at $15 ($10 for Jazz Gallery members) to the François Bourassa Trio’s sets at 9 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. may be reserved in advance by calling 212.242.1063 or will be available that night at The Jazz Gallery, 290 Hudson St. (at Spring St.), in Manhattan.
Bourassa, who is based in Montréal where he was born on September 26, 1959, holds a BA in performance with “Distinction and Honors in Composition” from McGill University and an MA with “Academic Honors and Distinction in Performance” from the New England Conservatory of Music where he studied with composer George Russell and pianist Fred Hersch. Hersch observes that Bourassa “…has developed a distinctive compositional voice…This is interesting, exploratory and passionate music that is well worth spending time with.”
Bourassa has released six critically acclaimed recordings since winning the 1985 Montréal International Jazz Festival New Talent Competition including the JUNO Award-winning CD Live in 2001 and the JUNO-nominated CD Indefinite Time in 2003 which also received a coveted Choc! du mois from France’s Jazzman Magazine and is the first and only album by a Québec jazz artist to receive a 4-star review. Bourassa’s recordings and concerts are notable for an open-ended approach to ensemble playing and a group dynamic reflecting a level of interaction bordering on the telepathic. A January 2005 All About Jazz review of Indefinite Time praised his “…forward-looking and contemplative music [that is] … incredibly suave… [and] morphs from pure ‘60s modal bop to a new millennium groove.”
Bourassa regularly tours throughout Canada -- his annual performances at his hometown Montreal International Jazz Festival always sell out – and has appeared at the North Sea Jazz Festival, the Yokohama Jazz Festival and the Nanjing Jazz Festival among other international jazz events as well as in Russia, Mexico and the US. His ensemble was the only jazz act invited by Canada’s Governor General to appear in a star-studded 50th Anniversary gala aired live on the CBC/Radio-Canada television network in 2002. Bourassa’s ensemble has opened for Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Holland, Abbey Lincoln, Wynton Marsalis, Dave Brubeck and Wayne Shorter, among others. After opening for Shorter at a concert in Calgary, the saxophonist encouraged Bourassa to “keep on doing that s..t that you’re doing!” Bourassa in turn composed “WS parts 1 & 2,” beautiful, heartfelt tributes to one of his musical heroes, that appear on the CD Indefinite Time. He cites John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Herbie Nichols, Bill Evans, McCoy Tyner and fellow Canadian Oscar Peterson as other artists that are important influences and inspirations.
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A two-time recipient of the Official IAJE Award for Outstanding service to Jazz Education, Bourassa teaches at l’Université du Québec à Montréal and at the Cégep de Drummondville (Québec). In addition, he has conducted workshops and clinics in France and Canada and fulfilled a residency at Bishop’s University in Lennoxville, Quebec. Bourassa has been living at the Quebec Studio in SoHo since July 2005, having won a prestigious competition conducted by the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec that awarded him a grant for a six-month residency in New York.
This event is graciously supported by the Quebec House and the Canadian Heritage Trade Routes Fund.
What the press has said about François Bourassa:
“Conventional themes with a good deal of chance-taking…an invigorating set of music sure to please fans of edgy mainstream jazz.” - Cadence (USA)
“ Energy and melodic lyricism that somewhat evoke one of Keith Jarrett`s quartets….”` -- Jazzman (France)
“For music that challenges convention and blurs stylistic barriers, listen up...with the addition of Leroux on saxophones his music has reached a new and higher plateau….a sophisticated musical team…they cook big time!” – The Gazette (Montréal)
“A contender for best-in-Canada rating….music of undeniable originality is performed with skill and expressive fervour…one of North America’s most accomplished jazzmen. Brilliant.” - Toronto Star
“Loose arrangements that bordered on no arrangements at all were filled with complicated melodies that wove in and out of time, forming fascinating pieces. Just when you thought the band had lost it completely, the saxophonist and piano would play a melody together with perfect precision. Bourassa is a beautiful player, an amazingly fast, freewheeling style coupled with impeccable technique…” – Edmonton Sun
“François Bourassa is a piano player’s piano player. His versatility and fluency...allow him to express his musical emotion with enviable spontaneity… Bourassa’s rhythmic sense is as sharp as a sword barely cooled down from the forge.” - Halifax Herald
“…abstract and interactive, finding brilliant peaks of the action….One of Canada’s finest pianists…developing an international profile…highly recommended” - Edmonton Journal
“An absolute feast for the ears and utter intrigue for the mind.” Canada Post (London, UK)
“Bourassa has set his own standards…” - Globe & Mail
“Bourassa is growing in stature as a player of modern improvised music.” - Montreal Gazette
General admission tickets at $15 ($10 for Jazz Gallery members) to the François Bourassa Trio’s sets at 9 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. may be reserved in advance by calling 212.242.1063 or will be available that night at The Jazz Gallery, 290 Hudson St. (at Spring St.), in Manhattan.
Bourassa, who is based in Montréal where he was born on September 26, 1959, holds a BA in performance with “Distinction and Honors in Composition” from McGill University and an MA with “Academic Honors and Distinction in Performance” from the New England Conservatory of Music where he studied with composer George Russell and pianist Fred Hersch. Hersch observes that Bourassa “…has developed a distinctive compositional voice…This is interesting, exploratory and passionate music that is well worth spending time with.”
Bourassa has released six critically acclaimed recordings since winning the 1985 Montréal International Jazz Festival New Talent Competition including the JUNO Award-winning CD Live in 2001 and the JUNO-nominated CD Indefinite Time in 2003 which also received a coveted Choc! du mois from France’s Jazzman Magazine and is the first and only album by a Québec jazz artist to receive a 4-star review. Bourassa’s recordings and concerts are notable for an open-ended approach to ensemble playing and a group dynamic reflecting a level of interaction bordering on the telepathic. A January 2005 All About Jazz review of Indefinite Time praised his “…forward-looking and contemplative music [that is] … incredibly suave… [and] morphs from pure ‘60s modal bop to a new millennium groove.”
Bourassa regularly tours throughout Canada -- his annual performances at his hometown Montreal International Jazz Festival always sell out – and has appeared at the North Sea Jazz Festival, the Yokohama Jazz Festival and the Nanjing Jazz Festival among other international jazz events as well as in Russia, Mexico and the US. His ensemble was the only jazz act invited by Canada’s Governor General to appear in a star-studded 50th Anniversary gala aired live on the CBC/Radio-Canada television network in 2002. Bourassa’s ensemble has opened for Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Holland, Abbey Lincoln, Wynton Marsalis, Dave Brubeck and Wayne Shorter, among others. After opening for Shorter at a concert in Calgary, the saxophonist encouraged Bourassa to “keep on doing that s..t that you’re doing!” Bourassa in turn composed “WS parts 1 & 2,” beautiful, heartfelt tributes to one of his musical heroes, that appear on the CD Indefinite Time. He cites John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Herbie Nichols, Bill Evans, McCoy Tyner and fellow Canadian Oscar Peterson as other artists that are important influences and inspirations.
- more -
A two-time recipient of the Official IAJE Award for Outstanding service to Jazz Education, Bourassa teaches at l’Université du Québec à Montréal and at the Cégep de Drummondville (Québec). In addition, he has conducted workshops and clinics in France and Canada and fulfilled a residency at Bishop’s University in Lennoxville, Quebec. Bourassa has been living at the Quebec Studio in SoHo since July 2005, having won a prestigious competition conducted by the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec that awarded him a grant for a six-month residency in New York.
This event is graciously supported by the Quebec House and the Canadian Heritage Trade Routes Fund.
What the press has said about François Bourassa:
“Conventional themes with a good deal of chance-taking…an invigorating set of music sure to please fans of edgy mainstream jazz.” - Cadence (USA)
“ Energy and melodic lyricism that somewhat evoke one of Keith Jarrett`s quartets….”` -- Jazzman (France)
“For music that challenges convention and blurs stylistic barriers, listen up...with the addition of Leroux on saxophones his music has reached a new and higher plateau….a sophisticated musical team…they cook big time!” – The Gazette (Montréal)
“A contender for best-in-Canada rating….music of undeniable originality is performed with skill and expressive fervour…one of North America’s most accomplished jazzmen. Brilliant.” - Toronto Star
“Loose arrangements that bordered on no arrangements at all were filled with complicated melodies that wove in and out of time, forming fascinating pieces. Just when you thought the band had lost it completely, the saxophonist and piano would play a melody together with perfect precision. Bourassa is a beautiful player, an amazingly fast, freewheeling style coupled with impeccable technique…” – Edmonton Sun
“François Bourassa is a piano player’s piano player. His versatility and fluency...allow him to express his musical emotion with enviable spontaneity… Bourassa’s rhythmic sense is as sharp as a sword barely cooled down from the forge.” - Halifax Herald
“…abstract and interactive, finding brilliant peaks of the action….One of Canada’s finest pianists…developing an international profile…highly recommended” - Edmonton Journal
“An absolute feast for the ears and utter intrigue for the mind.” Canada Post (London, UK)
“Bourassa has set his own standards…” - Globe & Mail
“Bourassa is growing in stature as a player of modern improvised music.” - Montreal Gazette
For more information contact All About Jazz.
