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Jean Vanasse

Jean Vanasse started his musical study at CEGEP of Drummondville in 1971 then he entered the Quebec music Conservatory in 72 and swichted to Montreal Conservatory in 73 where he studied till 75 with Maestro Louis Charbonneau and Guy Lachapelle respectively tympanist and first percussionist at MSO (Montreal Symphonic Orcherstra).

Barely comming out of the Conservatory, he founded a jazz quartet named L'Orchestre Sympathique with flute player François Richard. This group will have a lot of success in Quebec Canada and Europe. Meanwhile he's playing with the quartet, he is also backing french québécoise singer Pauline Julien from 77 to 81, recording and giving concerts in Canada, Quebec and Europe.

From 81 to 86 he is playing exclusivly in Europe with his band ¨L'OS¨, England, France, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Danemark, Holland, Luxembourg, Italy and Yougoslavia, playing in many festivals, House of Culture , Jazz Clubs like The New Morning in Paris and Geneva, The Brussels Jazz club, Le Petit Opportun, The Sunset in Paris, The Jazz Husset in Aarhus Danemark, Bim House in Amsterdam. With three albums and a lot of concerts around the world, l'OS had a great success.

Back in Quebec in 1986, Jean makes team with Czech bassist Miroslav Vitous and they will collaborate for four years, giving many concerts and putting an album in duet Nouvelle cuisine on Justin Time records in 1988. That year, Vanasse will write his first movie score for Sous les draps les Étoiles, from director Jean-Pierre Garié py and produced by the National Film Board.

During the nineties, Vanasse played with different formations such as trio, quartet etc, always as a band leader and he formed another duet with pianist Pierre St-Jak with whom he will play for many years, record a CD Portée disparue¨ on Amplitude Label, they will appear at MIJF, Rimouski's Festijazz, also at Calgary, Edmonton, Victoria and Vancouver Jazz Festivals. Then Jean works again with Pauline Julien, this time with French author and singer Anne Sylvestre under the musical direction of pianist Bernard Buisson presenting a show titled Gémaux croisées. Among the musicians with whom Jean Played we can name : Miroslav Vitous, Normand guilbeault, Frédéric Alarie, Daniel Lessard, Jean-François Martel, Pierre Tanguay, Eduardo pipman, Guy Thouin, Tim Brady, René Lussier, Sylvain Provost, Mathieu Bélanger, Richard Savoie, Yannick Rieu, Jean Derome and with French musicians, Bruno Tocanne, Jean-Philippe Viret, Denis Badault, Michel Saulnier, Bernard Cochin, Catherine Delaunay, Alain Blesing, George Brown (USA)

In 1995 Jean writes another movie score for Erreur sur la Personne written and directed by Gilles Noël produced by Nanouk Film.The CD from original score was nominated at ADISQ for best instrumental music CD of the year.

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Jean Vanasse: Vibraphonist Unsurpassed

Read "Jean Vanasse: Vibraphonist Unsurpassed" reviewed by Robert J. Lewis


For most people it is impossible to be equally disposed toward all musical instruments and their generic sound; some immediately resonate, others never, even over an entire lifetime. A musician who manages to win over those previously indifferent or worse--through the power of sound, invention or understanding of the possibilities of the instrument--is to be ranked among the select few who significantly expand our musical horizons.

Until I heard Canada's Kevin Breit, I was never a ...

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