JAZZ ARTIST

Since obtaining a bachelor's degree in classical clarinet (1984), Yvan Belleau has made his mark in the world of Quebec, Canadian, and international jazz. His four albums, Clear and Net (2002), Step by Step (2009), Mix-Cities (2013), and Quintissime (2023), transport us into his world as a composer, where he excels on both clarinets and saxophones. In 1995, he won a Juno Award for World Music for his contribution to Éval Manigat's album Africa +. In 2002, Yvan Belleau was chosen to represent Radio-Canada in Budapest, Hungary, where he recorded a concert that was broadcast in over 40 countries (in collaboration with Radio-Canada and the European Broadcasting Union/EBU). He collaborated for many years with drummer Guy Nadon, with whom he participated in a series of concerts with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Occasionally, he joined the Montreal Symphony Orchestra as a spare.

Yvan participates in numerous events with Raoul Duguay, a renowned poet and multidisciplinary artist. He plays in several early jazz ensembles. A recipient of numerous grants from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the Canada Council for the Arts, he serves as a judge for the Opus Awards and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. For nearly 40 years, he has contributed to the recording of albums and concerts with artists of all kinds. He participates in numerous concerts and television and radio programs. He teaches jazz clarinet at McGill University and Cégep Saint-Laurent. He participated in the recording of Pivotal Arc by New York-based jazz saxophonist
and composer Quinsin Nachoff (2020), Joe Sullivan's Pandomenia (2021)
with the Orchestre National de Jazz de Montréal, and Joe Sullivan's Under a Bird's Wing
with the Joe Sullivan Ensemble (2022). He collaborated on a tour of the show C'est si bon
de danser with Radio-Canada host Claude Saucier and Ron DiLauro's Big Band, featuring Kim Richardson and Marc Hervieux. For certain projects, he joined the Sinfonia de Lanaudière under the direction of conductor Stéphane Laforest.

Recently, he has been perfecting his clarinet playing in various gypsy swing projects. He
created a series of "Cabaret Jazz" concerts at the Pointe-Valaine Broadcasting Station, where he has the pleasure
of welcoming various jazz musician guests. Committed to introducing audiences to the beauty and versatility of his instrument, teacher and artist Yvan Belleau forges links between styles by fostering the development of new audiences through various offerings. His latest project is the orchestration entitled SUITE FOR CLARINET AND LARGE JAZZ ENSEMBLE from the album Quintissime, produced by KALMAN OLAH, a Hungarian orchestrator he met in Budapest in 2002.