Composer and pianist François Bourassa leads one of Canada’s most active recording and touring jazz ensembles. A trio for 15 years, François Bourassa, Guy Boisvert (on bass) and Yves Boisvert (on drums) were joined in 1998 by celebrated saxophonist André Leroux. Upon Yves’s subsequent departure, drummer Greg Ritchie joined the group. Since 1985, when François Bourassa’s ensemble won the Montreal International Jazz Festival’s new talent competition, the band has recorded regularly and has toured festivals, clubs, and cultural centres across Canada and France. They were the only jazz artists invited by Canada’s Governor General to appear at a star-studded 50th Anniversary gala aired live on the CBC television network. They have also performed in Mexico, the US and throughout Asia and Europe. François and his musicians have opened for luminaries such as Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis and Dave Brubeck. As a youth, Bourassa studied piano and composition. He holds a bachelor’s degree in performance from McGill University and a master’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston with Academic Honours and Distinction in Performance. His latest recording, Rasstones, was released last year on Effendi Records.

www.francoisbourassa.com