Born: June 5, 1961 Primary Instrument: Sax, alto
Alto and soprano saxophonist, composer and improviser François Carrier was awarded the Juno Award for “Best Contemporary Jazz Album” in March 2001 for his Compassion album on Naxos Jazz.
In his 35 years musical career François has played in numerous jazz festivals around the world, including the “Festival de Jazz de Montreux”, the “Jazz à Vienne” in France, the North Sea Jazz Festival, the Jazzmandu Festival, the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Vancouver Jazz Festival, to name a few. In 2002 François stayed six months in the Quebec Studio in Rome (CALQ), where he composed new works and got acquainted with the Italian musical milieu.
So far, François has released 24 CDs on labels such as Justin-Time Records, Spool Records, Leo Records (UK), FMR Records (UK), Ayler Records (Sweden), Naxos Jazz, 482 Music (Chicago). He has played and recorded with jazz giants such as Paul Bley, Gary Peacock, Bobo Stenson, Tomasz Stanko, Uri Caine, Jason Moran, Dewey Redman, Mat Maneri, Sonny Greenwich, Jean-Jacques Avenel, Pierre Côté and has been a long time collaborator with drummer Michel Lambert. Together, Michel and François have toured in several occasions in Europe, Asia and Canada.
In February 2008, FMR Records released “Kathmandu” recorded live in Nepal. In June 2008 Leo Records released “Within”, with his guests Michel Lambert and French bassist Jean-Jacques Avenel. In March 2009 Creative Sources released “Nada”. In 2010 François was the guest of Swiss Improv signer Véronique Dubois on a new Leo Records album titled “Being With”.
In 2011 Ayler Records released “Entrance 3” with guest pianist Bobo Stenson. Leo Records released “Inner Spire” recorded live in Moscow, Russia in December 2010. Then “All Out” on FMR and “In Motion” on Leo were launched at the Vortex on December 6th in London with special guests double-bassist John Edwards and pianist Steve Beresford. Hence, François lived in London at the Quebec Artist Residency from the CALQ untill January 3rd 2012.
Back home in Montreal, François is now working on different projects which will be published soon.
Every life form in the universe is a source of vibration, hence music. So let's sing, dance and play to the sounds of Life. F.C.
Awards:
Juno Award / Best Contemporary Jazz Album 2000 / Compassion - Naxos Jazz« Here, Carrier’s spirited attack is fused with grace, power and lyrically resplendent voicings, amid ventures into the freer realm. » GLENN ASTARIT / AllAboutJazz / July 2011
« Francois Carrier has style. He keeps a balance between sound, linear content and expressivity in ways that are original and enlivening. » Grego Edwards /gapplegatemusicreviewree / June 2011
« Canadian saxman François Carrier smelts a molten spirituality into a silvery, vibrato-less alto sax sound on anew release that blasts off from Coltrane but find its own trajectory. » Larry Cosentino / Signal To Noise / Summer 2011
« I’ve described François Carrier’s playing before on several album reviews as a very lyrical player, who can make his alto sing and resonate in a way that is reminiscent of Coltrane, in more than one way, including the expansive and spiritual nature of his improvisations. » Stef Gijssels / Free Jazz / March 2011
« With lots of sensitivity and attention to the nuances of sound and with two musicians who have been collaborating for at least a decade, telepathic understanding is the modus operandi, and the saxophonist and drummer seem to be creating with one mind.. » Paul Serralheiro / The Squidco’s Ear / March 2009
« saxophinist Carrier and drummer Lambert show spirit and invention as they ramble merrily about. » KZSU 90.1 FM / California
« Dewey Redman and François Carrier urge each other onward with plenty of expressive ideas being tossed around. The session comes recommended for its conversational interaction that finds four members of a quartet getting along quite well in the pursuit of creative chemistry. » Cadence / April 2007
« … together, Redman and Carrier are a fine match, they create a latticework of somber, blue lines. It’s a magestic, off-the-cuff dirge that grows into an intense mass of action. » Down Beat / January 2007
« Open spaces” is an album made of cohesion and passion, full of elegance and freedom, luckily devoid of clichés and formulaic posing by the artists. A worthy homage to a great saxophonist. » Touching Expremes - Italy / December 2006
« ...among the most impassioned albums to favor my CD player in the past year... » Russell Arthur Roberts / L.A. Jazz Scene / January 2004
« ...an original voice from the post-Coltrane continuum, a disciplined but creative force...» Nils Jacobson / All about jazz / October 2003
« ...infusing his art with spirituality... a superlative recording of delightful unpredictable musical path. » Don Williamson / Jazz Review / August 2003
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Primary Instrument:
Sax, alto
Location:
Montréal, Qc
Willing to teach:
Advanced students only.
Credentials/Background:
Free Melodic Improvisation
Clinic/Workshop Information:
Workshop / Conference
The Zen in the Art of Improvisation
