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News
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Summer is finally here! It's the concert season and the Montreal Jazz Festival is approaching rapidly!
Here's the list of my up coming show, see you there!
29th June - Daniel Clarke Bouchard Quartet, L'Astral 6pm, dans le cadre du Festival de Jazz de Montréal, avec Rémi-Jean Leblanc - contrebasse et Martin Auguste - drums
1st July - Yannick Rieu Nonet, Diese Onze Jazz Club Montreal, 9:30pm, presented by the Montreal Jazz Festival, with Joe Sullivan, Lex French, Richard Gagnon, Muhammad Abdul Al-Khabyyr, Yannick Rieu, François Bourassa, Guy Boisvert, Kevin Warren.
2nd July - Roberto Fonseca, Monument National 8pm, presented by the Montreal Jazz Festival
8th July - Orchestre National de Jazz invites John Hollenbeck and Theo Bleckman, Salle Gesu 10:30pm, presented by the Montreal Jazz Festival, world premiere!
14th July - Samuel Blais Quartet, Diese Onze Jazz Club 9:30pm, Montreal.
16th July - Orchestre National de Jazz at the Lanaudière International Festival, Amphithéâtre Fernand-Lindsay 2pm.
18th July - Alex Bellegarde Jam Session, Dièse Onze Jazz Club 9:30pm, Montreal, with Martin Auguste - drums and Alex Bellegarde - doublebass
28th July - Orchestre National de Jazz at the Lanaudière International Festival, Salle Roland-Brunelle 8pm, Joliette, composition and direction Christine Jensen.
13th August - Classical Concert at Précieux-Sang Church, 10am, Repentigny, presented by ARAM, saxophone and organ.
17th August - Cole Birney-Stewart project, Resonance Cafe 9pm, Montreal.
18th August - Orchestre National de Jazz, Théatre de Verdure, 8pm, Montreal, composition and direction Christine Jensen
Saturday, April 15, 2017
Hi to all!
I can't wait! April 21st and 22nd, I'll have the great pleasure of playing with one of my favorite guitar player: Ben Monder!
He's coming all the way from New York to perform with my quartet at the great Diese Onze in Montreal! We will playing with the excellent Fraser Hollins on bass and Alain Bourgeois on drums!
Both concerts start at 9pm, make sure not to forget to make a reservation as it will be packed! See you soon!
Dièse Onze 514-223-3543
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
This weekend, March 17th-18th, I will have the pleasure of playing with New York great Dan Weiss!
The group will also feature Jean-Nicolas Trottier on Trombone and Adrian Vedady on the bass.
We will be playing at Diese Onze Jazz Club, 4115A St-Denis street in Montreal.
All original music by everyone in the band, can't wait, it will be super fun!
For reservations call (514) 223-3543.
Friday, January 6, 2017
First off, happy New Year to all! All the best for 2017!
The year has already been busy for me! I just came out of 3 days of studio with the Orchestre National de Jazz de Montreal to record Christine Jensen's new 5 mouvement suite "Under the Influence".
Beautiful writing from Christine once again, stay tuned for the CD release somewhere later this year.
Also, on Saturday January 7th, I'll have the chance to re-unite with the one and only Dave Liebman, our last performance together dating about 16 months ago!
It will be at Diese Onze, 4115 St-Denis, Montreal, at 9pm and will also feature Fraser Hollins on bass and Martin Auguste on drums.
Later in March and April I'll be playing with special guests Dan Weiss and Ben Monder, stay tuned for more details!
We will also be releasing a new saxophone quartet recording featuring David Liebman, David Binney, Donny McCaslin and myself.
More information coming soon!
All the best and see you soon!
-Samuel Blais
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
After many years and many tours, our brand new album is here! Split Cycle "2"!
Since it is an independent production and that the group has decided not to put the CD on iTunes, the only way to get the album is through my website.
Feel free to email me at info@samuelblais.com and we'll figure out a way to get this brand new music in your hands(and ears!) :-)
Thanks again for your support and love through the years and have a wonderful holiday season!
Monday, December 5, 2016
Great News!!
Celebrating 8 years of playing and composing music together, Split Cycle is going on a record launch tour in December!
Here are the dates for our concerts and thanks for your usual support!
Split Cycle "2" record launch tour:
December 7th: The Rex Hotel Jazz & Blues Bar, Toronto, 9pm
December 8th: The Rex Hotel Jazz & Blues Bar, Toronto, 9pm
December 9th : St-Basile-le-Grand, 8pm
December 10th: Dièse Onze, Montreal, 6:30pm
December 14th: Brasserie artisanale Albion, Joliette, 9:30pm
December 16th: Bar Ste-Angèle, Québec, 8pm
December 17th: Bar Ste-Angèle, Québec, 8pm
Can't wait to share this music with you and happy holidays to all! :-)
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Hello Everyone! I hope you had a fantastic summer!
The month of September is at our door which means school is back and the cultural season is back!
Here's a list of my concerts for the next weeks, I hope to see you around and have a great fall!
29 august- Jean-Nicolas Trottier Tentet, Resonance Cafe, Montréal, 9pm
1 September - MAS Trio, Diese Onze, Montréal, 9pm
5 September - Host for the Upstairs Jam Session, Montréal, 8pm
8 September - Samuel Blais Quartet, Diese Onze, Montréal, 9pm
12 September - Host for the Upstairs Jam Session, Montréal, 8pm
14 September - Jazz Session at Albion, Joliette, 8:30pm
15 September - LRP Project, Diese Onze, Montréal, 9pm
22 September - Hydra Collective, Diese Onze, Montréal, 9pm
24 September - Orchestre National de Jazz, l'Astral, Montréal, 8pm
26 September - Jazz and poetry avec Stanley Péan et Gilles Archambault, Montreal.
27 September - Jam Alex Bellegarde, Diese Onze, Montréal, 9pm
28 September - Jazz Session at Albion, Joliette, 8:30pm
29 September - Jazz and poetry avec Stanley Péan et Gilles Archambault, Québec
I will also be on tour with Alain Bedard's group in Korea, Japan and China for the month of October.
Thursday, June 30, 2016
Summer is finally here!
I'll be using my free time to write some new music and finish a few album projects, stay tuned for more details this Fall!
Meanwhile, here's a list of my next concerts for this season,
hope to see you out there!
July 2 - Dièse Onze Jazz Club, Montreal - 7pm - Le MOS Trio with Martin Auguste and Olivier Babaz
July 5 - L'Astral, Montréal - 6pm - Frédéric Alarie Ensemble
July 7 - Maison Symphonique, Montreal - 7pm - L'orchestre National de Jazz de Montréal invites the great Oliver Jones
July 9 - Toronto - Arden Arapyan Quartet featuring Chris Carroll
July 17 - Joliette - 2pm - Orchestre National de Jazz de Montréal au Festival de Lanaudière, Jessica Vigneault sings Ella Fitzgerald.
July 18 - Théâtre Fairmount, Montreal - 8pm - Proyecto Iré with Manu Dibango
July 22 - Festival Nuits d'Afrique, Montreal - 6:30pm - Proyecto Iré
July 24 - Précieux-Sang Church, Repentigny - 10am - Messes Estivales, classical music presented by ARAMusique
August 3 - New York, Bar Chord - 9pm - Split Cycle
August 6 - New York, 1+2+3 Series - 8pm - Split Cycle
August 16 - Resonance Cafe, Montreal - 8pm - Dave Gossage Septet
Have a great summer!
Monday, February 15, 2016
Musicians Aki Ishiguro, Nicolas Letman Burtinovic, Alain Bourgeois and Samuel Blais are the members of this collective group called Split Cycle. We will be on tour in the province of Quebec for 7 events not to be missed! We will also be recording our second album during this trip! The March madness will be on from March 4th until the 12th, don't miss it and feel free to check out the Calendar section for all the details, venues and times!
Monday, January 25, 2016
Happy New Year to all!
Here are a few projects to look out for in 2016
The "Jazz Session" at the Albion Brewery in Joliette is back starting on Wednesday January 27th.
The collective project "Split Cycle" will be touring Canada and recording our second CD in March 2016!
Mixing and mastering of the sax quartet project featuring David Liebman, David Binney et Donny McCaslin should be out in the fall 2016!
The Auguste Quartet will be touring Europe and Asia, featuring Michel Lambert and Alain Bedard.
And finally I will be be recording some new music at the end of 2016 with my band, stay tuned!
See you soon! :-)
-Samuel
Saturday, September 12, 2015
It had been a while since I gave you some fresh news! Here it is, I will try to inform you on a more regular basis in the next months.
Lots of projects on the horizon! I had the great pleasure to record with David Liebman, Donny McCaslin and David Binney for our new saxophone quartet record in the summer of 2015. We recorded about 2 or 3 originals of each member and we are now in the process of mixing and editing,
stay tuned for more details soon!
I've also had the chance to perform at the Lincoln Center in New York in the great Dizzy's Club this past October. The group featured musicians from Montrea:l Francois Bourassa, Michel Lambert and Alain Bedard as well as special guest Donny McCaslin. It was my third visit to New York this year and it's always a great pleasure to go back to the city.
As far a teaching goes, I started my third year at Cegep de Joliette as the classical and jazz saxophone teacher which also means that the famous "Jazz Session" is also back at Albion Brewery. You can check for specific dates on my calendar page.
Feel free to contact me for private lessons as well!
See you soon!
Monday, August 18, 2014
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I have the immense pleasure to announce the release of my new album on Effendi Records, "Cycling", a collaboration with the great David Liebman! We will be touring for 3 days around Canada performing at The Rex in Toronto on September 19th, Diese Onze in Montreal on September 20th and at Le Cercle in Quebec City on September 21st. The record will be in stores later in the fall and will be distributed by Naxos. The only way to get it before everyone else will be to come to our gigs in September, I will have some copies with me. I hope to see you at one of our gigs and can't wait to share the stage again with such a legend!
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
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I'm finally back from New York City! It was a great trip filled with intense music and new friends! During my 2 week trip, I had the chance to play in some great venues in New York and Boston(The Iridium, 55 Bar, The Beehive, etc.) and performed with Nate Smith, Tommy Crane, Aki Ishiguro, Nicolas Letman-Burtinovic, Jeff Hirshfield, Jamie Baum, Nick Anderson, Roy Assaf and Aryeh Kobrinsky. It's always a great pleasure and an honor to be performing with such great players in the big apple!
I also had a meeting with the great Fred Lebayle, fantastic mouthpiece maker, who designed for me a custom handmade wood mouthpiece! I have been playing exclusively on Lebayle mouthpieces for the last 10 years so it is a great honor to now be sponsored by such a passionate and devoted artist. I guess I'll keep playing on your mouthpieces for another 10 years...Thanks Fred ;-)
Also, please check out Fred's webpage!
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Sounds
SAMUEL BLAIS
Cycling
