Emie R Roussel
Originally from the South Shore of Montreal (Quebec, Canada) and adopted resident of Rimouski, Emie Rioux-Roussel discovered the fascinating world of music through her parents, themselves musicians and singers. She began studying classical piano at the age of 5 and continued lessons until she was 13. After a complete two-year break, she decided to follow her instincts and her love of improvisation to begin studying jazz with her father, jazz pianist Martin Roussel. He would be her mentor until she started studies at Cégep de St-Laurent college under the guidance of Lorraine Desmarais. She completed her diploma in jazz piano interpretation and was awarded the college’s “Very High Distinction” grant. In 2008, Emie made her entrance at Université de Montréal in jazz piano interpretation with Luc Beaugrand and completed her bachelor’s degree in May 2011. Since then, she is a teacher and accompanist for the Jazz-Pop program at Cégep de Rimouski college in Rimouski, Quebec.

Emie has been fortunate to share the stage with several renowned Canadian musicians, such as Terry Clarke, Mike Gauthier, Éric Lagacé, Dave Watts and Norman Lachapelle. She also played with saxophonist Yannick Rieu and singer Elizabeth Shepherd during a show at the 35th Montreal Jazz Fest, recorded by Radio-Canada and broadcast on Ici Musique radio. On the pop scene, she has accompanied artists such as Bruno Pelletier, Carolanne D’Astous Paquet, Marc Angers and Stéphanie Bédard. In June 2014, she has been guest pianist for one edition of TV show “Pénélope Mcquade” on Radio-Canada. In 2010, Emie founded the Emie R Roussel Trio with whom she recorded her first album that same year, entitled Temps Inégal. The trio’s second album, TRANSIT, was released In 2013. This one features Nicolas Bédard on bass, Dominic Cloutier on drums, the St-Germain Quartet, and percussionist Julie Quimper. Since its release in June 2013, TRANSIT has earned many positive reviews and was awarded 3rd place in the top 5 jazz albums of the year by sortiesJAZZnights.com 2013 in addition to winning the “Jazz album of the year” award at Prix Opus 2013-14. During her participation in the TD Grand Jazz Award at Montreal Jazz Fest, the trio received a Special Mention from the jury, which, the following year, led to opening for american singer Stacey Kent at Théâtre Maisonneuve in Place des Arts. The ensemble also won the public’s Coup de coeur prize in 2013 at Festi Jazz international de Rimouski. In May, 2014, Emie R Roussel was named Radio-Canada Jazz Revelation of 2014-15. In addition to presenting concerts in Quebec and Western Canada in 2014, the Emie R Roussel trio also had the opportunity to perform several shows in Australia and New Zealand. During this tour, the band played at the Melbourne Women’s International Jazz Festival and in the cities of Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland and Wellington. The coming year promises to be busy with the release of a third album and a European tour.

Nicolas Bédard
After having started his musical education in his hometown, Quebec city, Nicolas moved to Montreal in 2004 to study at McGill University. There he was thought by some of the greatest canadian jazz musicians such as Fraser Hollins, Jan Jarczyck and Rémi Bolduc. He completed his masters degree in 2014.

For the past ten years, Nicolas have been an active member of the music scene in Montreal, playing in many jazz projects like Rafael Zaldivar trio, Chicago goes west and Emie R Roussel trio but also in latin and funk bands such as trio Bruxo and GroveAttic. He has been performing both on electric and acoustic bass all over North America, in Europe and Brazil. Since 2013, Nicolas Bédard his teaching jazz bass in Cégep de Rimouski college.

Dominic Cloutier
started playing drums at the age of 10. After he has played with several bands during his high school years, he decided to study music at college in a full-¬time music program with Richard Dallaire and Marc Bonneau. After that , his thirst for knowledge brought him to the jazz interpretation program at Montreal University, where he had the chance to study with the great Paul Brochu. Upon completion of his B.A. in jazz interpretation, Dominic moved to New York City to study at the “Drummer’s Collective” with Kim Plainfield, Marko Djordjevic, and Nathaniel Townsley.

Back in Montreal in 2009, Dominic started to play with some major artists in the Quebec pop music scene such as Dan Bigras and Jean-¬‐Pierre Ferland, among others. He also played with different music directors, who hired him for album recordings, music tours, television shows and many more. Jazz music and a flow of creativity have always been in his heart and the Emie R. Roussel trio is for him a wonderful platform for expression.