In June 2012, three of Canada’s greatest musicians/composers came together for the first time as a trio to undertake an ambitious project. It was the celebrated solo percussionist Marie-Josée Simard who had the idea of joining with François Bourassa and Yves Léveillé, two very talented jazz pianists, to form a percussion-and-pianos combination. The trio set off together to explore some of the highways and byways of contemporary classical music, jazz, and improvisation sometimes flavored by worldmusic.

Their unique journey, with gongs, marimba, tubular bells and vibraphone resonating in tune with way-out pianos, reveals a palette of unexpected sonic colors. The enthusiasm with which audiences have been greeting the trio since they first got together testifies to their talent.

Le Devoir described their music as being of ”extreme originality.” The 2012/13 and 2013/14 Opus Prize for best jazz concert and album of the year was awarded to the trio, confirming the exceptional quality of their free and inventive explorations, and the evident pleasure its members take in sharing their musical visions.

Marie-Josée Simard

percussions

Marie-Josée Simard has been leading a solo percussionist career for nearly 30 years. She has recently branched in a new direction by initiating the En trois couleurs jazz trio, together with the renowned pianists and jazz composers François Bourassa and Yves Léveillé.

Marie-Josée Simard received the Prix Opus 2013 for the Best concert – Jazz, with the En trois couleurs trio. In 2003, she received the National Assembly of Québec medal. In 1980, she won the televised competition Maurier Search for Star in Toronto. In 1979, she was unanimously awarded First Prize at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal.

Yves Léveillé

piano

Highly respected for his compositions and arrangements, as well as for his numerous collaborations with some of today's most important jazzmen, singers, dancers, songwriters, actors and directors, Yves Léveillé is also the founder of Les Productions Yves Léveillé, an organization devoted to producing and presenting contemporary jazz performances. He has held the position of artistic director since the company's inception in 2002.

Born in Lévis, Quebec, Yves Léveillé has lived in Montreal since 1984. In the 1990s he decided to create his own ensemble dedicated to the interpretation of his original compositions. Since then, he has recorded seven albums under his own name. Available on the Effendi label, these recordings have been very well received by critics and audiences alike.

Seeking to articulate a musical language that is in turn lyrical, cerebral and dreamy, Yves Léveillé is on a never-ending quest for beauty within the jazz idiom.

François Bourassa

piano

Recent years have seen Bourassa take on new challenges, including an occasional trio with saxophonist Jean Derome and percussionist Pierre Tanguay that has taken the pianist into more unstructured realms; a New York City residency lasting six months in 2005; and a growing list of commissions including, most recently, an orchestral concerto for vibes and marimba. The constant is the François Bourassa Quartet, and on its newly recorded Idiosyncrasie (2011) it displays new levels of mystery, whimsy and passion, with more angles and space in its sound and an ever-deepening telepathy among its members. “Continuity is important for me,” Bourassa summarizes, “and even when I have been focused on other projects it is easy for us to get back together. The challenge is to write music that will take things a step forward, because I don’t want to repeat what we’ve already done. I’m always open to new discoveries. It never stops.”

China Tour Schedule

2019.09.06-09.24

2019.09.14|Shenmu

2019.09.21|Shanghai

2019.09.22|Nanjing

More to come...

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2016.10

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