Lorraine Desmarais

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Lorraine Desmarais (born August 15, 1956 in Montréal ) is a Canadian jazz pianist , composer and university teacher.

Life

Desmarais earned a Masters in Classical Piano from McGill University in 1979 ; In 1984 she studied with Kenny Barron in New York. Influenced by Chick Corea and Oscar Peterson , she began to perform with her own trio in 1986/86. With Tiger Okoshi , who also appeared on her album of the same name (1991), she was a guest at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal ; In 1988 she played with Paquito D'Rivera . In the 1990s she formed the formation Vision with Michel Cusson and Michel Donato , played with her own quartet in Boston and New York as well as with Marian McPartland and Joanne Brackeen and in 1998 with the Diva Jazz Orchestra .

As a soloist and artistic director of various projects, Desmarais has recorded a number of albums, including a. with Don Alias ( Andiamo ), André Moisan, Jean Gaudreault and Ted Baskin from the Orchester symphonique de Montréal and Michel Bettez from the Orchester Métropolitain ( Bleu Silence ); She also works in a trio with Fredéric Alarie (bass) and Camil Bélisle (drums). In 2005 she founded her own big band.

Since 1979 she has taught at the Cégep Saint-Laurent in Montréal; meanwhile she works there as a professor.

Prizes and awards

In 1984 she won the competition at the Montréal Jazz Festival; the LP Trio Lorraine Desmarais , which emerged from the prize money, received a Félix Award in 1985 . In 1986 she was the first Canadian to win the Great American Jazz Piano Competition in Jacksonville. Desmarais was awarded the Oscar Peterson Prize of the Montréal Jazz Festival in 2002. In 2004 she received the Prix ​​à la création artistique des Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec . The 2003 album Lost in the Stars by Guido Basso , on which she was involved, received a Juno Award . In 2007 she was also awarded the Prix ​​André Gagnon of the Société Professionnelle des Auteurs et Compositeurs du Québec .

Discographic notes

  • Lorraine Desmarais (Select, 1991)
  • Jazz pour Noel (Analekta, 2005)
  • Live au Club Soda (Analekta, 2007)
  • Big Band (Analekta, 2009)
  • Couleurs de lune (Analekta, 2012)

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Desmarais, Lorraine
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian jazz pianist, composer and university teacher
DATE OF BIRTH 15th August 1956
PLACE OF BIRTH Montréal