Lorraine Desmarais

Born in Montreal in 1956, Lorraine Desmarais has built a career located between jazz, writing for ensembles and pedagogical transmission. Trained first in classical piano at the Université de Sherbrooke, then with Armas Maiste at McGill and later under Kenny Barron in New York, she developed this foundation into a modern jazz language that blends trio, solo and orchestral writing. Her discography documents this trajectory with Trio Lorraine Desmarais (1985), Andiamo (1986), Pianissimo (1987), Vision (1991), Lorraine Desmarais (1991), Bleu silence (1999), Love (2002), Jazz pour Noël / Jazz for Christmas with Jean‑Pierre Zanella (2005), Live Club Soda with Tiger Okoshi and Michel Cusson (2007), Lorraine Desmarais Big Band (2009), Couleurs de lune (2012), Danses danzas dances (2016) and Street Beat Suite (2023). She has also worked with Michel Donato, Don Alias, André Moisan and musicians from Montreal’s orchestras, while maintaining a regular trio activity, notably with Frédéric Alarie and Camil Bélisle. Present on Canadian jazz stages since the 1980s, Lorraine Desmarais has taught jazz piano in Montreal for several decades and was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2012.