Olivier Babaz with special guest Michel Cusson – March 3, Segal Studio

Olivier Babaz with special guest Michel Cusson

French Composer and Bass & Kalimba player Olivier Babaz invites Canadian Guitarist and Composer Michel Cusson as well as stellar drummer Alain Bourgeois for a repertoire of original compositions, standards and improvised soundscapes.

As a bass player, Olivier Babaz has been multiplying artistic projects and collaborations for many years. Born and raised in Paris, he started travelling at a very young age in Europe and worldwide. He lived mainly in France, Netherlands, Reunion Island and now resides in Montreal.

An early passion for Blues, Rock and traditional music led him naturally towards jazz, developping his improvisation skills under various forms. He participated in numerous albums and studio recordings, and is often called in the studio to play other instruments in addition to basses (guitars, various string instruments, percussion…).

He graduated from Music Academy International in Nancy and The Centre des Musiques Didier Lockwood. He obtained his first prize in jazz interpretation from Conservatoire National de la Région Réunion where he also studied classical bass. He has a professional master in film music writing from The Université du Québec à Montréal.

Michel Cusson is a critically acclaimed, world-renowned musician, music director and film music composer. Initially trained as a jazz-rock guitarist at the prestigious music departments of Montreal’s McGill University and Boston’s Berklee College of music and also founder of the jazz-rock group UZEB, Cusson transitioned into film composition in the early 90’s.

Cusson also composed music for many mega-shows all over the world. Two horse shows: Cavalia touring worldwide for more than 12 years, and Odysseo almost 4 years. Ulalena (16 years in Hawaii), and Era (10 years in Shanghai, China) have been seen by thousands of spectators. It is to be noted that over 3.5 million spectators have seen Cavalia throughout more than 2500 shows since its creation.

The global breadth and quality of Cusson’s melodic contributions to 35 films, 12 mega-shows and 16 television series (250 hours) have been distinguished with 14 Felix Awards, 7 SOCAN Awards, 1 Jutra Award, 6 Gémeaux Awards and a Gemini. His musical versatility has established him as one of the most sought-after composers in the world.

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

Segal Centre
5170 chemin de la Côte-Ste-Catherine, Montreal, H3W 1M7