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 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.

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 Quebec 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". 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, His unique writing style and his compositions have earned him recognition not only in Canada, but across the world.

Discography

Bands Conventum À l’affût d’un Complot (1977, LP, Disques Tamandir) Le Bureau Central des Utopies (1979, LP, Disques Cadence) Nébu Nébu (1978, LP, Disques Cadence) Motus (1980, LP, Disques Cadence) Les Granules Soyez Vigilants, Restez Vivants… (1986, LP, Ambiances Magnétiques) Le Retour des Granules (1988, LP, Ambiances Magnétiques) Au Royaume du Silencieux (1992, CD, Ambiances Magnétiques) Évidence Musique de Thelonious Monk (1993, CD, Ambiances Jazz) Live à la Casa (2000, CD, Ambiances Jazz) Jean Derome et les Dangereux Zhoms Carnets de Voyage (1995, CD, Ambiances Magnétiques) Navré (1996, CD, Ambiances Magnétiques) Torticolis (1998, CD, Ambiances Magnétiques) 1994–96 (1998, 3xCD, Ambiances Magnétiques) Nous Perçons les Oreilles Nous Perçons les Oreilles (1998, CD, Ambiances Magnétiques) La Vie, c’est Simple (2002, CD, Ambiances Magnétiques) Keep the Dog That House We Lived In (2003, 2xCD, Fred Records) Fanfare Pourpour Le Bal (2004, CD, Monsieur Fauteux) Trio Derome Guilbeault Tanguay The Feeling of Jazz (2005, CD, Ambiances Jazz) 10 Compositions (2004, CD, Ambiances Jazz)

Collaborations With Chris Cutler and René Lussier Three Suite Piece (1996, CD, Recommended Records) With Plinc! Plonc! (2001, CD, Ambiances Magnétiques) With Myles Boisen, Fred Frith and Pierre Tanguay All Is Bright, But It Is Not Day (2002, CD, Ambiances Magnétiques) With Louis Sclavis Un Moment de Bonheur (2003, CD, Victo Records) With Abel Hassing and Pierre Tanguay Résilience (2004, CD, independent)

Solo Confitures de Gagaku (1988, CD, Victo Records) Je Me Souviens; Hommage à Georges Perec; Tu r’luttes (1997, CD, Ambiances Magnétiques) La Bête / The Beast Within (1997, CD, Ambiances Magnétiques) 3 Musiques Pour UBU (1998, 2xCD, Ambiances Magnétiques) Strand, Under the Dark Cloth (1999, CD, Ambiances Magnétiques) Le Magasin de Tissu (2001, CD, Ambiances Magnétiques) Canot-Camping, Expédition 4 (2002, CD, Ambiances Magnétiques)