Benjamin Deschamps, saxophones

Benjamin Deschamps is a versatile, Montreal-based musician who is well respected as a saxophonist, flutist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, and teacher. Awarded the Grand Prix du Festi Jazz de Rimouski in 2013, he was named the 2017–2018 Révélation Radio-Canada en Jazz, then received the Grand Prix TD at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal in 2019. His fourth album, Augmented Reality (2021), won Jazz Album of the Year at the 2023 Opus Awards gala.

He has released five albums and has presented his music in Canada, the United States, France, Belgium, and Germany. He has also toured in over 20 countries, collaborating with artists such as Jacques Kuba Séguin, Rachel Therrien, the Orchestre national de jazz de Montréal, and Jean-Michel Blais. He has also participated in pop and stage productions such as Beautiful: The Music of Carole King, Forever Gentlemen, and Chicago.

He holds a master’s degree in jazz performance from McGill University, where he teaches arranging, and is also a saxophone teacher at Cégep Marie-Victorin. He is also General and Artistic Director of Aléa musique, an organization dedicated to the creation, production, and distribution of original music.

Nadia Monczak, violin

Nadia Monczak is a Canadian violinist and violist of Polish origin. She has performed as a recitalist and chamber musician in nearly 30 countries worldwide, in such renowned venues as Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall and Het Concertgebouw. As a soloist with orchestras, she has performed with the Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Franfkurt Oder and the Polish Radio Chamber Orchestra “Amadeus.” She has been a member of numerous chamber music groups over the years, ranging from classical to tango, French chanson, minimalist music, and klezmer. On the orchestral scene, she has performed with ensembles in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, the USA, and Canada.

A member of the 2021 Global Leaders Program, Nadia has led numerous social and humanitarian initiatives, including coaching El Sistema orchestras in South America, teaching violin in refugee camps in Greece and at Encore! Sistema in Quebec, and organizing numerous benefit concerts. Two short documentaries on her work have been produced by CBC Arts. A graduate of the Université de Montréal and the Maastricht Conservatorium, her teachers included Vladimir Landsman, Boris Belkin, and Zakhar Bron. She currently plays a Francesco Gobetti violin (c. 1772) and a Charles Nicolas bow (c. 1890), generously loaned by the Canimex Company of Drummondville, Quebec.

Gentiane MG, piano

Gentiane Michaud-Gagnon, who goes by the stage name Gentiane MG, likes to blur the boundaries between tradition and modernity in an acoustic, contemporary, and original sonic universe. For this improvising pianist, music is above all a powerful means of expression. Michaud-Gagnon has released three albums of original music under her own name: Eternal Cycle (Arté Boréal, 2017), Wonderland (Effendi, 2019), and Walls Made of Glass (TPR Records, 2022). Her latest album earned her the 2023 OPUS Award for Best Jazz Album, as well as nominations at the ADISQ and Juno Awards. She has been invited to perform in many countries, including Canada, Mexico, Germany, China, Luxembourg, Hungary, Italy, South Korea, and France.

Levi Dover, double bass

Born in Montreal in 1990, Levi Dover began his musical journey at an early age with the electric bass. He later pursued formal musical training at McGill University, where he earned a master’s degree in jazz performance. Considered an important voice on the Canadian jazz scene, he has been a member of the Gentiane MG Trio for over a decade, touring extensively throughout Canada, Europe, and Mexico. His reputation as a reliable accompanist with an original voice has led him to share the stage and record with musicians such as David Binney, Rafael Zaldivar, Jim Doxas, Kevin Dean, Yannick Rieu, and Emie R Roussel. He also leads his own group, the Levi Dover Sextet, which has received the GMMQ’s Prix François-Marcaurelle, the Bourse Création Jazz from the Conseil des Arts de Montréal, and the Grand Prix LOJIQ from Festi-Jazz Rimouski.