Ben Charest Trio – March 2, at the Segal Studio

Jazz musician and composer Benoît Charest is known for his brilliant film scores, notably the cult classic Les Triplettes de Belleville … but the gifted guitarist also puts on a mean jazz show. The Ben Charest Trio, with Dan Thouin at the organ and John Fraboni on drums mixes original compositions with classic pieces from the jazz repertoire.

At the age of 13, jazz guitarist and composer Ben Charest developed a passion for music and began to play the songs of the Beatles and Led Zeppelin by ear. Inevitably, Ben discovered jazz and at 17 decided to take private classes with Neil Smolar. Smolar taught Ben the basics of musical harmony while helping him express his genuine talent through jazz. During his university studies, Ben earned his living by playing with the best jazzmen of Montreal. In 1991, he wrote the score for the NFB’s documentary Montreal Retro.

Since then, Charest has composed over twenty film soundtracks, most notably The Triplettes de Belleville, for which he won the César of the Best Film Music and a nomination for the Academy Award Best Song.

For tickets and information: www.segalcentre.org or 514-739-7944