Yannick Rieu

Composer and tenor saxophonist Yannick Rieu is one of the finest musicians ¨C in any genre of music - to have emerged from Quebec, and one who's also enjoyed an international career for many years, particularly in France.

Yannick was raised in the Gaspe and Saguenay regions (Quebec). After studying at Le Conservatoire de Rennes (France), then in Chicoutimi and Montreal, he began his jazz career in 1980. As early as 1988, Down Beat, the American bible of jazz, ranked him amongst the 20 most promising sax players in the world alongside Branford Marsalis, Joe Lovano and Courtney Pine. Since then, he's been collecting rave reviews in jazz publications in the U.S., France and Canada for his recordings and his live performances.

Yannick Rieu has toured extensively Qu¨¦bec and the rest of Canada, as well as France, Germany, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, China and Brasil. He frequently travels to Paris, the jazz capital of Europe. A great admirer of the legendary sax players who marked the history of jazz over the last half-century, including Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Sidney Bechet, Wayne Shorter and Steve Lacy, Yannick absorbed their influences to forge his own style, skillfully mastered and highly personal. Rieu's expression is utterly free of clich¨¦s and his phrasing is as much innovative and captivating, revealing the artist's strong understanding and competence within the jazz idiom.

He has played with Paul Bley, Dizzy Gillespie, Toots Thielemans, Jon Hendricks and Bill Carrothers.

Yannick Rieu received the 2006 'Oscar Peterson' prize for his contribution to Canadian jazz. So far, Rieu collected three F¨¦lix Awards (ADISQ) for Jazz Album of the Year: What Is the Colour of Love(1996), Little Zab (2000), and 'I' Is Memory (2006).

In 2007 Rieu completed his eighth disc St-Gervais released by Justin Time. This new recording, captured live in Paris last December, 2006.

Jocelyn Tellier (guitar)

Guitarist interested by different styles of music like: rock, jazz, folk etc. He explores the ambiances, the sons, always with a special taste and feeling. A musician who does many researches. Since 15 years, Jocelyn has worked with Dumas, Daniel Thouin, Daniel Belanger, Yannick Rieu, Catherine Durand. He is working like leader with his group 'Les Bruns' for his first album. This album will be released in 2009.

R¨¦mi-Jean LeBlanc (bass)

Born in Moncton, New-Brunswick, R¨¦mi-Jean started playing music in public at the age of 14. He quickly became very interested by jazz and improvisation, which led him to pursue academic studies in Montreal. After completing his undergraduate music degree at age 21, he was soon able to acquire recognition in the Montreal music scene by performing with many experienced musicians. R¨¦mi-Jean has now established himself as a prolific bassplayer and has recently been noticed as composer and leader of his own

projects.

Philippe Melanson (Drums)

Originally from New-Brunswick, Philippe Melanson discovers jazz at an early age through his father, a bass player. After high school, he settles in Montreal to attend McGill University in jazz performance and study drums with Andre White and Chris McCann. The year 2007 proves decisive for Philippe; he plays in the Montreal International Jazz Festival as part of Yannick Rieu's group as well as Adrian Vedady's appears on pianist Francois Bourassa's latest recording (Rasstones) and travels to China twice, once with Bourassa and again with Rieu. Recently, Philippe has been collaborating with some of Montreal's finest musicians such as Yannick Rieu, Francois Bourassa, Adrian Vedady, Marianne Trudel, Anna Webber, Malcolm Sailor, Andreas Vial and Jason Sharp.