Jean Derome

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Jean Derome
Jean Derome performing at the Suoni Per Il Popolo Festival in Montreal, Canada, 24 June 2007.(© John Pham)
Jean Derome performing at the Suoni Per Il Popolo Festival in Montreal, Canada, 24 June 2007.
(© John Pham)
Background information
Birth name Jean Derome
Born June 29, 1955 (1955-06-29) (age 52)
Montreal, Canada
Genre(s) Avant-garde jazz,
Avant-progressive rock, Experimental, Free improvisation, Contemporary classical
Occupation(s) Musician, Composer
Instrument(s) Saxophone, Flute
Years active 1973 – present
Label(s) Ambiances Magnétiques
Website www3.sympatico.ca/jean.derome

Jean Derome (born June 29, 1955) is a French Canadian avant-garde saxophonist, flautist and composer. A prominent figure in the Montreal musique actuelle (new music) scene, Derome has been a member of a number of experimental jazz and rock groups, and has appeared on over 30 albums, including seven solo albums. He has written scores for over 30 films and co-founded Ambiances Magnétiques, a Canadian musical collective and independent record label.

In 1992, Derome won the second annual Canadian Freddie Stone Award.[1]

Contents

[edit] Biography

Jean Derome was born in Montreal, Quebec on 29 June 1955. He studied music theory in Montreal at Cégep de Saint-Laurent between 1972 and 1975, and flute at Conservatoire de Musique du Québec between 1975 and 1979. He also taught music theory and flute in Montreal colleges between 1974 and 1983. During his studies, he formed his first band Nébu in 1973, one of Quebec’s first avant-garde jazz groups. A trio with Derome on flute, pianist Pierre St-Jacques and bassist Claude Simard, Nébu played "classically-informed contemporary jazz".[2] They toured extensively in Quebec, performed at the Festival de Musique Ouverte de Châteauvallon in France in 1977 and at the inaugural Montreal International Jazz Festival in 1980. Nébu made two albums, Nébu (1978) and Motus (1980) before disbanding in 1981.

In 1978 Derome, St-Jacques and others founded EMIM (Ensemble de Musique Improvisée de Montréal), an informal association of free-improvising and jazz musicians. EMIM produced a number of groups, many with Derome as composer, arranger and flutist. In 1983 Derome began playing alto saxophone with La Grande Aventure, a street band popular at the Montreal International Jazz Festival,[2] and later with two groups devoted to the music of Thelonious Monk, Mystérioso and Évidence.

In 1983 Derome and Québec guitarist René Lussier formed Ambiances Magnétiques, a musical collective and independent record label, providing an outlet for the avant-garde music of its members. One of the first groups from this collective was Les Granules. It was formed by Derome and Lussier in 1984, and combined traditional songs, free improvisation, musical parody and social commentary.[2] Derome and Lussier also performed at jazz festivals across North America and Europe between 1988 and 1991. In 1989, Derome and Lussier joined Fred Frith's review band Keep the Dog, which toured Europe, North America and the former Soviet Union until the band's demise in 1991.

Derome has collaborated with a number of other musicians, including Chris Cutler, Pierre Tanguay, Myles Boisen, Louis Sclavis and Jandek. In 1988, Derome released his first solo album, Confitures de Gagaku, followed by six more over the next 14 years. Derome has composed scores for over 30 films, working with a number of Quebec film directors, including Michèle Cournoyer, Jacques Leduc and Pierre Hébert. He also wrote and choreographed a number of dance and theatre pieces in the early to mid-1980s, including Confitures de Gagaku (1985) for woodwinds, soprano, double bass, keyboards and percussion.

Derome is "[one] of the most active and eclectic musicians on the Canadian creative music scene."[3] His unique writing style and his compositions have earned him recognition not only in Canada, but across the world.[3]

[edit] Discography

[edit] Bands

Conventum
  • 1977 À l’affût d’un Complot (LP Disques Tamandir)
  • 1979 Le Bureau Central des Utopies (LP Disques Cadence)
Nébu
  • 1978 Nébu (LP Disques Cadence)
  • 1980 Motus (LP Disques Cadence)
Les Granules
Évidence
  • 1993 Musique de Thelonious Monk (CD Ambiances Jazz)
  • 2000 Live à la Casa (CD Ambiances Jazz)
Jean Derome et les Dangereux Zhoms
Nous Perçons les Oreilles
Keep the Dog
Fanfare Pourpour
  • 2004 Le Bal (CD Monsieur Fauteux)
Trio Derome Guilbeault Tanguay
  • 2005 The Feeling of Jazz (CD Ambiances Jazz)
  • 2004 10 Compositions (CD Ambiances Jazz)

[edit] Collaborations

With Chris Cutler and René Lussier
With Pierre Tanguay
With Myles Boisen, Fred Frith and Pierre Tanguay
With Louis Sclavis
  • 2003 Un Moment de Bonheur (CD Victo Records)
With Abel Hassing and Pierre Tanguay
  • 2004 Résilience (CD independent)

[edit] Solo

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Freddie Stone Award. Sound Symposium. Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
  2. ^ a b c Derome, Jean. Encyclopedia of Music in Canada. Retrieved on 2006-12-20.
  3. ^ a b Jean Derome. ActuelleCD.com. Retrieved on 2006-12-20.

[edit] External links


Persondata
NAME Derome, Jean
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Canadian musician
DATE OF BIRTH June 29, 1955
PLACE OF BIRTH Montreal in Canada
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
Languages