Jeannette Lambert

Born: June 15

Inspired by her jazz-loving parents and childhood addresses that spanned the globe, Ms. Lambert began singing professionally in coffee shops at the age of 12. Mentored by veterans of the Montreal jazz scene, including trumpeter Herbie Spanier, and influenced by the diverse vocal traditions of flamenco, fado, and jaipong, she grew up playing in professional jam sessions with visiting artists such as vocalist Jon Hendricks. She would go on to further refine her musical style studying with vocalist Jay Clayton, the legendary Cecil Taylor and others at the Banff Jazz Workshop

Michel Lambert

Born to a family synonymous with classical music in his native Quebec, Lambert studied drums and composition at Boston's Berklee College of Music, attended workshops in Paris, and studied privately with saxophonist/composer Dave Liebman in New York and pianist/ composer Misha Mengelberg in Amsterdam. Since his first professional engagement with pianist/composer Milcho Leviev's trio in 1983, he has recorded extensively and performed hroughout Asia, Canada, Europe and the United States. Accomplished as both a composer and visual artist, excerpts from his first orchestral work, ��Le Journal Des Episodes,�� were premiered in 1992 by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and his oil paintings earned him a commission from the Canada Council to illustrate a 4-CD compilation of Canadian music to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the United Nations

Min Rager

Born: February 4, 1975

Min Rager Biography Min Rager is one of Canada��s premier female jazz pianists and composers. Born in Seoul, Korea, she moved to Montreal in 1997 to pursue a professional music career. She holds her Master��s degree in Jazz Performance from the Schulich school of music at McGill University graduating with the distinction of �� Outstanding achievement in Jazz Piano��. At the Montreal International Jazz Festival in 2005 her Quintet was nominated for the ��Grand prix de jazz General Motors��. Also that year, Min was the recipient of the �� Best new Artist�� award from Montreal��s L��OFF Festival de Jazz. In 2008, Min received a commission from CBC to compose a jazz suite for 2 pianos

Martin K. Petersen

Born: May 31, 1974

Montreal-based musician Martin K. Petersen was born and raised in Denmark. He started out playing xylophone in the school band and later switched to keyboards. Having no instrument at home, Martin got up and went to school early every morning to practice on the piano before class started. Later, he took an afternoon job as bike courier so he could rent a keyboard and practice at home. Over the years Martin performed in several musicals at Svendborg Theatre and he played keyboards in the Danish rock/blues band The Overheads. It was at an Overheads performance that Martin first got exposed to Hammond organs

Alix Noel

Born: October 10, 1977

Montreal Jazz, classical, latin and world-music pianist and acordionist of haitian background. Alix studied in Fortaleza, Brazil, in Berklee, Boston and Vincent d'Indy, Canada. He is now playing for the brazilianized group Bombolesse and the Mexican group Banda de Gaza. He did two CD's : Comunidade da rima (in Brazil) and Pucha-pucha (in Canada). Alix is also an important member of the Haitian classsical music association.

Isaiah Ceccarelli

Born: March 22, 1978

Musique actuelle, jazz, improvisation, art brut

Jean-Michel Pilc

Born: October 19, 1960

Born in 1960 in Paris, France, now also an American and Canadian citizen, self-taught pianist and composer Jean-Michel Pilc has performed with numerous jazz giants: Roy Haynes, Michael Brecker, Dave Liebman, Jean Toussaint, Rick Margitza, Michel Portal, Daniel Humair, Marcus Miller, Kenny Garrett, Lenny White, Chris Potter, John Abercrombie, Mingus Dynasty & Big Band, Lew Soloff, Richard Bona etc. He has also worked with Harry Belafonte, as his musical director and pianist, and has performed a duet with the legendary opera singer Jessye Norman.

Jean-Michel Leblanc

Born: September 29, 1994

Jean-Michel Leblanc is a multi-instrumentalist and composer active in in Quebec, Canada. As a sideman, he participated as an accompanist, arranger and co-composer for various artists such as "M��gane Cyr" and progressive rock band "Citizens", and is now an active member of experimental musical ensembles "The Plastic Waste Band" and "Le Jager". His work with these groups, coupled with his numerous activities as a freelance musician, led him to perform all around Quebec and Canada. ? As a composer, he synthesizes his hard rock roots with his passion for cinematic music and his love of modern pop with his fascination of contemporary classical music

2019: The Year in Jazz

by Ken Franckling
January 2, 2020

The year 2019 was robust in many ways. International Jazz Day brought its biggest stage to Australia. An important but long-shuttered jazz mecca was revived in a coast-to-coast move. ECM Records celebrated a golden year. The music and its makers figured prominently on the big screen. The National Endowment for the Arts welcomed four new NEA ...

Sonic Explorations and Creative Improvisations at The Guelph Jazz Festival

by Dave Kaufman
October 5, 2019

In North America, there are over 100 annual jazz festivals. Only a small number of these festivals are devoted to the avant-garde, adventurous, and freely improvised music. The Vision Festival in New York City is perhaps the best known festival with its celebration of improvised music, dance, and poetry. There are a few others that are ...