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Jazzfest 2026
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Important:
François Bourassa: François Bourassa—now with eleven albums of original music under his belt—has become an ambassador for Canada’s thriving jazz community at an international level. A model of constant evolution, he continues to seek out new challenges for himself, his colleagues and his growing community of listeners. After releasing his first solo piano album “L'Impact du silence” in 2021, Bourassa and his Quartet are back with a new live album “Swirl”, released on July 7, 2023. His album, “Number 9” (2017), is a subtle namecheck to the Beatles’ psychedelic oeuvre; the album also salutes two more of his guiding influences, Carla Bley (to whom he paid tribute at last year’s Montreal Jazz Festival with the Orchestre National de Jazz de Montréal) and Karlheinz Stockhausen. His eponymous quartet has been a staple of Montreal’s artistic landscape since the early 1980s. The band features founding bassist Guy Boisvert, longtime saxophonist André Leroux, and Guillaume Pilote as the most recent addition in Bourassa’s mentorship of young drummers. Initially formed as a trio, Bourassa won the Montreal Jazz Festival’s New Talent prize in 1985, kickstarting their touring career throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States. In 1998, Bourassa’s trio joined forces with André Leroux, a saxophonist and flutist equally at home with contemporary saxophone quartet music as a featured soloist in jazz orchestras. Their 2001 Live album, recorded at Toronto’s Top O’ The Senator. received a Juno award. The following album, 2002’s Indefinite Time, featured the quartet augmented with percussionist Aboulayé Koné. Bourassa has continued to pursue artistic projects outside of his quartet, including a trio with multi-reedist Jean Derome and percussionist Pierre Tanguay, both pillars of Québec’s improvised music community; artistic residencies in New York and Paris; and a growing list of orchestral commissions, chamber music works and ballet scores. Born in Montreal in 1959, Bourassa was initially captivated by the electric guitar and the blues-rock of Johnny Winter and Jimi Hendrix. Keyboard-centric progressive rock was the catalyst to return to the piano at the age of 17. Through the gateway of Chick Corea’s Return To Forever, Bourassa worked his way backwards through the jazz tradition. After completing a degree in composition at McGill University, Bourassa pursued a Master’s at New England Conservatory under the tutelage of Fred Hersch and George Russell, among others. Now, Bourassa finds himself on the faculty of McGill University and Université de Québec à Montréal (UQAM), teaching jazz piano and supervising small ensembles. He is also an in-demand clinician, giving master classes throughout Canada. Joining François will be Guy Boisvert on upright bass, André Leroux on saxophones, flute and Guillaume Pilote on drums.
Return to JazzFest 2026
François Bourassa: François Bourassa—now with eleven albums of original music under his belt—has become an ambassador for Canada’s thriving jazz community at an international level. A model of constant evolution, he continues to seek out new challenges for himself, his colleagues and his growing community of listeners. After releasing his first solo piano album “L'Impact du silence” in 2021, Bourassa and his Quartet are back with a new live album “Swirl”, released on July 7, 2023. His album, “Number 9” (2017), is a subtle namecheck to the Beatles’ psychedelic oeuvre; the album also salutes two more of his guiding influences, Carla Bley (to whom he paid tribute at last year’s Montreal Jazz Festival with the Orchestre National de Jazz de Montréal) and Karlheinz Stockhausen. His eponymous quartet has been a staple of Montreal’s artistic landscape since the early 1980s. The band features founding bassist Guy Boisvert, longtime saxophonist André Leroux, and Guillaume Pilote as the most recent addition in Bourassa’s mentorship of young drummers. Initially formed as a trio, Bourassa won the Montreal Jazz Festival’s New Talent prize in 1985, kickstarting their touring career throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States. In 1998, Bourassa’s trio joined forces with André Leroux, a saxophonist and flutist equally at home with contemporary saxophone quartet music as a featured soloist in jazz orchestras. Their 2001 Live album, recorded at Toronto’s Top O’ The Senator. received a Juno award. The following album, 2002’s Indefinite Time, featured the quartet augmented with percussionist Aboulayé Koné. Bourassa has continued to pursue artistic projects outside of his quartet, including a trio with multi-reedist Jean Derome and percussionist Pierre Tanguay, both pillars of Québec’s improvised music community; artistic residencies in New York and Paris; and a growing list of orchestral commissions, chamber music works and ballet scores. Born in Montreal in 1959, Bourassa was initially captivated by the electric guitar and the blues-rock of Johnny Winter and Jimi Hendrix. Keyboard-centric progressive rock was the catalyst to return to the piano at the age of 17. Through the gateway of Chick Corea’s Return To Forever, Bourassa worked his way backwards through the jazz tradition. After completing a degree in composition at McGill University, Bourassa pursued a Master’s at New England Conservatory under the tutelage of Fred Hersch and George Russell, among others. Now, Bourassa finds himself on the faculty of McGill University and Université de Québec à Montréal (UQAM), teaching jazz piano and supervising small ensembles. He is also an in-demand clinician, giving master classes throughout Canada. Joining François will be Guy Boisvert on upright bass, André Leroux on saxophones, flute and Guillaume Pilote on drums.
Return to JazzFest 2026