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The Francois Bourassa Trio is one of the most popular and active jazz groups in Quebec. The group was founded in 1983 and is composed of Francois Bourassa, pianist, and brothers Yves Boisvert, drummer, and Guy Boisvert, bass player.
The Montreal Jazz Festival of July 1985 was particularly important for the Trio as they were recipients of the Concours Bose prize, a breakthrough for the group since they were invited to perform in the final concert of the festival. They later represented Canada in a concert entitled “Radiodiffusion europeenne” and made their first recording on radio Canada label, “Reflet 1”, which was released in June 1986 and was in nomination for the Felix Award at the Gala de l’ADISQ. (Association du disque et de l’industrie du spectacle du Quebec) in October of the same year.
Since then they have never looked back: they performed at the Festival de Lanaudiere in July ’86, and were featured with Dizzie Gillespie at the same festival the following summer. They also played at Le Festival de Trois-Rivieres, Le Festival de Lanaudiere, The Toronto Jazz Festival, The Gaume Music Festival in Belgum, The Gaspe Jazz Festival, and of course, annually, at the Montreal Jazz Festival. Their Jazz mass performed at he request of the Dominican Fathers has become an integral part of the F.I.J.M. They also played in various “Maison de la culture” and cultural centres. Other venues and clubs the Trio has performed at include: Le Petit Champlain. And Le Grand Theatre, in Quebec City and Le Domaine Forget in Charlevoix. They tour regularly throughout Quebec (Chicoutimi, Gaspe, lles-de-la-Madeleine, Montreal, Baie James, etc.) and are frequently invited to do television and radio broadcasts. In March of 1990, the Trio performed for the first time in Western Canada at Edmonton’s prestigious “Yardbird Suite”, and returned with Les Balles Jazz de Montreal in September 1991, that same month, they were invited to the Heritage Jazz Festival in Moscow.
In addition, Francois Bourassa was commissioned by Les Balles Jazz de Montreal, an internationally known dance troupe, to compose a full-length ballet as well as a “pas a deux” which was premiered in the winter of 1992. The same year he also worked on a piece entitled “Music for Jazz Trio, string quarted and voice” for which he received a Canada Arts Council grant.
The Trio had the honor to represent Canada and Quebec at Expo ’92 I Seville, Spain. In July of 1992 also,, the group performed at the Toronto Jazz Festival which has become part of their annual itinerary. Soon after, they were invited to participate in the Jazz series of the Canadian Embassy in Washington D.C.., and toured Quebec with “Les Balles Jazz de Montreal”
The musician have also surpassed themselves that same year in releasing their second album “Jeune Viex Juene” (Camplitode Records) which took the group in a new musical direction.
On top of their regular annual performances, the musicians tour Quebec intensively. They performed throughout Korea, France and Canada. The l’Ensemble Amati commissioned a piece of Francois Bourassa, the pianist composer, (the first ever with a string orchestra) which was premiered by the Trio and the ensemble at the Place des Arts.
The Trio mixes contemporary Jazz with traditional harmony, combining the roots of jazz with a touch of
modern North American Music. In his compositions, Francois reveals a great affinity with the French
impressionist composers Faure, Debussy and Ravel. Nevertheless, he deeply admire the music of Jazz
giants such as Bud Powell, Miles Daivs, John Coltrane and Kenny Wheeler. The influence of Bill Evans,
Paul Bley, McCoy Tyner and Wayne Shorter is clearly present in the group’s playing. The musician’s
repertoire consists mostly of Francois’ original compositions plus the occasional jazz standard from their
collection.
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