Biography
Born on 5 June 1961 in Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada, Carrier launched his professional path as a jazz musician by taking up alto saxophone in Vancouver in 1979. His bold and often daring musical choices quickly drew notice from both peers and listeners. Settled in Montreal from 1982 onward, he has established a reputation for fluid, inventive improvisation, particularly after assembling his trio in 1990 with bassist Pierre Coté and drummer Michel Lambert. The group’s album Intuition earned a nomination for Jazz Album Of The Year at the 1998 Gala de l’ADISQ, after which the musicians embarked on a European tour that included a stop at the Montreux Jazz Festival. That same year Carrier launched Nouvel Ensemble De Musique Improvisée (NoEMI), an ensemble of kindred free improvisers whose participants have included Dewey Redman and Sonny Greenwich.
In early 2002 he received a grant from the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec that enabled several months of composition in Rome. Subsequent travels across Canada and parts of Europe were accompanied by further well-received recordings. Guest pianists have periodically joined the trio in performance and on disc; among them are Steve Amirault, featured on the Juno Award-winning Compassion (2000), Paul Bley and Gary Peacock, heard on Traveling Lights (2004), Uri Caine on All’Alba (2003), and Jason Moran together with Bobo Stenson. Additional collaborators have encompassed Mat Maneri, Uwe Neumann, and Gary Peacock.
Carrier’s tone remains incisive, and he approaches each performance with energetic unpredictability, drawing listeners into the rapid succession of moods he creates.
In early 2002 he received a grant from the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec that enabled several months of composition in Rome. Subsequent travels across Canada and parts of Europe were accompanied by further well-received recordings. Guest pianists have periodically joined the trio in performance and on disc; among them are Steve Amirault, featured on the Juno Award-winning Compassion (2000), Paul Bley and Gary Peacock, heard on Traveling Lights (2004), Uri Caine on All’Alba (2003), and Jason Moran together with Bobo Stenson. Additional collaborators have encompassed Mat Maneri, Uwe Neumann, and Gary Peacock.
Carrier’s tone remains incisive, and he approaches each performance with energetic unpredictability, drawing listeners into the rapid succession of moods he creates.
Albums
