Alain Caron

As part of the Grands Spectacles series, the Rimouski International Jazz Festival, presented by Videotron and in collaboration with Toyota Rimouski, is proud to present a performance by Alain Caron (9m), juste after Michel Cusson (7pm).

The career of bassist Alain Caron begins at the age of 11 when he participates in an amateur competition. He then joined various groups to play popular top 40 music and American and French standards. At the age of 14, he was introduced to an Oscar Peterson record and he discovers the music that will become his greatest passion: Jazz.

It was in 1977 that Alain Caron met Michel Cusson and his group. Caron is then in the company of musicians of the same caliber that can appreciate the foundations of jazz while having the will to innovate. They emerged in 1980, by founding the fusion jazz group UZEB.

In Montreal, in addition to playing with the band, Alain Caron began working in different recording studios and performing in jazz clubs. Although he considered himself a self-taught musician, he followed a few private and correspondence courses before he went at the Berklee College of music in 1979. During his time in Boston, he was put in touch with jazz elite musicians and began playing in Boston’s jazz clubs with David Kikovsky, Tom Harrell, Sal Nestico, Frank Tiberi, Jerry Bergonzi and Bob Moses.

However, he decided to return to Montreal to devote himself almost exclusively to UZEB. The group will record ten albums between 1981 and 1990. Over 400 000 copies will be sold worldwide, with countless concerts in more than 20 countries. In April 2005, he was invited to participate in a series of performances and recordings with the prestigious WDR big band in Cologne,Germany, under the direction of Michael Abene.

To date, Alain Caron has published more than 20 records, either solo or with the UZEB group, in addition to collaborating to some 50 albums of artists evolving as much in jazz, world music and pop artists. Winner of several awards, including 11 Félix, Gemini and the Oscar-Peterson Award twice, Alain Caron was voted best bassist eight consecutive years by jazz report magazine.

Caron quickly developed a reputation as a master electric six string bass virtuoso. As such, he was invited to give master classes in most major cities worldwide.

In 2007, the ‘’Université du Québec’’ under the auspices of the ‘’Université du Québec’’ in Rimouski, gave him an honorary doctorate. In 2013, he was once again awarded the Oscar Peterson Prize, this time as a solo artist. At the beginning of 2010, the construction of the Alain Caron music school in Rivière-du-Loup was announced. In September 2016, Caron begins a new career as bass teacher and in charge of the jazz master program at the Montreal University. Also, in 2016-17, a series of concerts was presented in Argentina and the United States, including a performance at the renowned “Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola Jazz at Lincoln Center” in New York.

After a collaboration of nearly 10 years as the spokesperson for the Italian company of bass amplifiers Markbass, Alain participated in the announcement of the release of a second SIGNATURE amp ( http://www.markbass.it/product-detail/cmd-super-combo-k1/ ) at the prestigious NAMM show in California. In addition to being the spokesperson, Caron contributes to the conception and design of this amplifier.

That same year, after a 25-year absence, the group UZEB announced its great return on stage. In addition to the Montreal Jazz Festival where the tour took off, the famous power jazz trio will perform in France, Israel, Italy and Canada. In July 2018, he was honoured to receive the Order of Canada, the highest civilian honor awarded in Canada! In November 2019, recording of an album in New York city with Turkish pianist Fahir Atakoglu and Cuban drummer Horacio ”El Negro” Hernandez.
A series of concerts planned for 2020 in the United States and Europe have been canceled due to covid-19 and postponed to September 2022.

In November 2021, recording of an album with guitarist Luca di Luzio, trumpeter Randy Brecker, keyboardist George Whitty and drummer Rodney Holmes. A European tour is scheduled for August 2022. In July 2022, a four concert tour in Italy with guitarist Luca di Luzio, keyboardist Otmaro Ruiz, drummer Tom Brechtlein, and saxophonist Manuel Trabucco. In 2023, a nine concert tour in Italy with Luca di Luzio, George Whitty, Manuel Trabucco, and Dave Weckl.

Also in the summer of 2023, a series of five concerts featuring a brand new musical project bringing together nine musicians, including a five piece horn section. Selections from his own repertoire were carefully chosen and arranged specifically for this show.

In 2024, a series of concerts in France and Quebec with an ensemble of three faculty musicians from Paris—Pierre Bertrand, Denis Leloup, and Alfio Origlio—and three faculty musicians from the Université de Montréal: Ron DiLauro, Paul Brochu, and Alain Caron.
In 2025, invited to perform with the ONJ (Orchestre National de Jazz) at the Cinquième Salle of Place des Arts in Montreal.

In 2026, a second concert is scheduled with the ONJ in Montreal, along with a series of performances featuring a jazz trio and a string quartet.