Duo François Bourassa & Jeanne Rochette

Jeanne Rochette

Composition, vocals, piano / Singer-songwriter and actress, Jeanne Rochette pursued both music and theatre studies in parallel. In 2004, she moved from Paris to Quebec, where she continued her music training and began writing her own songs. In 2010, following the release of her debut album Elle Sort, she performed extensively with her band.

After spending 10 years in Quebec, she returned to her hometown of Paris in 2016 for the release of her second album Cachée (L’Autre Distribution). She has performed at major events such as the Francofolies de Montréal, opening for Thomas Fersen, and at the Estival de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, opening for Philippe Katerine, and also opened for Cali on tour.

In February 2021, she released La Malhonnête, her third album, for which she again wrote both the lyrics and the music. This more rock-influenced record aligns with the vibrant energy she brings to the stage. To promote the album live, she is joined by François Puyalto on electric bass and Côme Huveline on drums and electric guitar.

The album La Malhonnête was awarded the Coup de cœur prize by the Académie Charles Cros in 2021.

François Bourassa

With ten albums of original music to his name, François Bourassa has become a global ambassador for Quebec’s thriving jazz community. A model of constant evolution, he continues to seek new challenges for himself, his collaborators, and his growing audience. On April 16, 2021, Bourassa finally released his first solo album L’Impact du silence, recorded at La Buissonne studio in southeastern France. On July 7, 2023, he released Swirl, a new live album by the François Bourassa Quartet recorded at Studio Piccolo in Montreal in 2022.

Bourassa’s talent was first recognized in 1985 when his trio won first prize at the Montreal Jazz Festival competition, marking the beginning of his touring career in Europe, Asia, and North America. In 1996, saxophonist and flutist André Leroux—equally at home in contemporary saxophone quartets and as a soloist in jazz orchestras—joined Bourassa’s trio. The François Bourassa Quartet has been a cornerstone of Montreal’s artistic landscape for over 25 years, featuring bassist Guy Boisvert, André Leroux, and more recently, young drummer Guillaume Pilote.

Their 2001 Live album, recorded at Toronto’s Top of the Senator, received a Juno Award. Bourassa also received the SOCAN Hagood Hardy Award in 2011 for his work as a composer. With his most recent album, Number 9 (2017), he expanded his discography and paid tribute to the Beatles’ psychedelic work Revolution #9 and The White Album. One of the album’s highlights, Carla und Karlheinz, honors two of Bourassa’s key influences: Carla Bley (to whom he paid tribute at the Montreal Jazz Festival with the Orchestre national de jazz de Montréal) and Karlheinz Stockhausen. Number 9 was named one of the best Canadian jazz albums of 2017 (Peter Hum, Ottawa Citizen) and praised by Bley herself as “a wonderful piece of work.” Over the past decade, the quartet has received several Quebec Félix and Opus awards for both recordings and live performances.

For over 30 years, alongside his work with the Quartet, Bourassa has been involved in numerous artistic projects and collaborations. These include a trio with multi-instrumentalist Jean Derome and percussionist Pierre Tanguay—both pillars of Quebec’s improvised music scene; collaborations with the prolific Myra Melford; artist residencies in New York and Paris; and a growing list of orchestral commissions, chamber music, and ballet scores. Notable collaborations include En Trois Couleurs with pianist/composer Yves Leveillé and percussionist Marie-Josée Simard; Re: Bill Evans, also an Opus Award winner, with legendary bassist Michel Donato, saxophonist Frank Lozano, and Pierre Tanguay on drums; various ensembles with saxophonist Yannick Rieu; and a tribute to Dave Brubeck led by renowned saxophonist Rémi Bolduc.

Born in Montreal in 1959, Bourassa was initially drawn to electric guitar and the blues-rock of Johnny Winter and Jimi Hendrix. Keyboard-centered progressive rock inspired his return to piano at age 17. Influenced by Chick Corea’s Return to Forever, Bourassa reconnected with jazz tradition. After earning a degree in composition from McGill University, he pursued a master’s degree at the New England Conservatory under the guidance of Fred Hersch and George Russell, among others. Bourassa has also taught and led clinics at McGill, UQAM, and Université de Montréal.