Normand Guilbeault

Active since the mid-'80s, Montreal jazz bassist Norman Guilbeault splits his time between post-bop jazz sessions with his ensemble and more cutting-edge avant-garde jazz as sideman for various artists related to the collective Ambiances Magnétiques. His most ambitious project to date is the historical jazz opera Riel: Plaidoyer Musical/A Musical Plea, for 15 musicians. He is co-founder of the OFF Festival de Jazz de Montréal, an alternative counter-event of the Montreal Jazz Festival.

Guilbeault first got noticed on the Montreal jazz scene in the groups of pianist <a href="spotify:artist:6pskpw0dpoMaKXZCWoOw7I">Jean Beaudet</a> and drummer <a href="spotify:artist:5WiR06CvuIRLHoEXDlTpY6">Bernard Primeau</a> in 1985. From the start, his ease of play, elegant improvising, and clean sound were appreciated. He soon recorded his first studio session: <a href="spotify:artist:5WiR06CvuIRLHoEXDlTpY6">Primeau</a>'s Perspectives, released in 1987. Performances and recordings alongside <a href="spotify:artist:5IOIq5SDF7ti0W7lrGztb4">Yannick Rieu</a>, Nelson Symonds, and <a href="spotify:artist:0boEQDDp5EFY9vDYj1OTLQ">François Marcaurelle</a> followed before the end of the decade. Meanwhile, the bassist formed his Norman Guilbeault Ensemble in 1988. First a quartet comprising trumpeter Ivanhoe Jolicoeur, clarinetist Mathieu Bélanger, and drummer Paul Léger, it expanded to a quintet with the arrival of trombonist Michel Ouellet in 1991. Guilbeault's intent was to have a bass-led group in the vein of <a href="spotify:artist:1W8TbFzNS15VwsempfY12H">Charles Mingus</a>' and <a href="spotify:artist:3DuKJapiJ2AUvoIJq1ZJFb">Oscar Pettiford</a>'s, with a repertoire of compositions by bassists. But with the years, the group developed its own repertoire, gradually moving out of jazz standards and into something more contemporary. A first album, Dualismus, came out on Red Toucan in 1994, the same year the Ensemble won the DuMaurier Jazz Award at the Montreal Jazz Festival. Two more CDs with <a href="spotify:artist:4EbAqzS6xUF7grkBcqRmo1">Jean Derome</a> as guest followed in 1995 and 1996 on Justin Time. The Jazz Report Magazine from Toronto declared the Ensemble Best Jazz Acoustic Group of 1997.

<a href="spotify:artist:4EbAqzS6xUF7grkBcqRmo1">Derome</a> opened a door to the avant-garde scene and the bassist's interests began to shift. His playing grew freest while retaining a strong jazz flavor. By the mid-'90s, Guilbeault had completely renewed his roster of collaborators and become a trusty sideman for most key Ambiances Magnétiques artists. He contributed to <a href="spotify:artist:4EbAqzS6xUF7grkBcqRmo1">Derome</a>'s large-scale projects, <a href="spotify:artist:7apemXHFP9BMKw4Jiyn0Rk">Michel F. Côté</a>'s soundtracks and his group <a href="spotify:artist:6yZVZZTO2UKjv5PnMGlUND">Bruire</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5eo5hDcXzwqENCA7kwczSY">Robert M. Lepage</a>'s free jazz trio, and <a href="spotify:artist:0MofP0aHBkL1FXSqM2huGD">René Lussier</a>'s ensemble. Supported by the label, he created his Riel at the Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville in 1998 and toured it in Canada for a couple of years. A recording came out in 1999. In 2000, Guilbeault joined forces with <a href="spotify:artist:0boEQDDp5EFY9vDYj1OTLQ">Marcaurelle</a>, Jean Vanasse, and Pierre St-Jak to organize the first OFF Montreal Jazz Festival. Born out of a profound dissatisfaction with the official event's focus on big international stars, the OFF programmed local jazz musicians, premiered encounters, and presented left-field music the real festival disregarded. The OFF was back the next year with support from the alternative press. ~ François Couture, Rovi