Jazz pianist and composer
François Bourassa is one of Quebec’s most accomplished jazz pianists and composers, having become, over the decades, a true ambassador for the Quebec jazz scene on the international stage. A graduate of McGill University and holder of a master’s degree from the New England Conservatory—where he studied under Fred Hersch and George Russell—he began building his reputation in 1985 by winning first prize at the Montreal International Jazz Festival competition, thus launching a career that has taken him on tours across Europe, Asia, and North America.
For over 40 years, his eponymous Trio—featuring bassist Guy Boisvert and his latest drummer Guillaume Pilote—has been a staple of Montreal’s artistic landscape. Their live album recorded at Toronto’s Top of the Senator won a Juno Award in 2001, and over the past decade, the group has accumulated several Félix and Opus Awards. Bourassa also received SOCAN’s Hagood Hardy Award in 2011 in recognition of his work as a composer. A tireless collaborator, he is involved in numerous artistic projects, orchestral commissions, and residencies in New York and Paris, demonstrating boundless musical curiosity.