Ensemble Fleur de Lys

In Canada, there are two official languages: English and French. While English is spoken in basically every province, French is spoken mainly in Québec. The province of Québec has a beautiful musical tradition that goes back a long way. In the same way Duke Ellington and Count Basie and countless jazz musicians and orchestras celebrated the American Popular Song, Ensemble Fleur de Lys celebrates this French speaking culture by playing original jazz arrangements of the great Québécois popular songs. In 2004 with the help of a few friends, Sylvain Picard (guitarist/arranger) founded Ensemble Fleur de Lys. At the beginning of 2005 began the first shows. In November of that year, the band was in studio to record an album entitled Le retour aux sources. It was released to a jam packed house in September 2006. It received a few outstanding reviews (one of them being: “Le retour aux sources is one of the best jazz albums that was released in 2006.” Denis Lapierre Radio-Canada (radio-canada is the equivalent of NPR or BBC.)

A tour of eastern Québec is planned for fall of 2010.

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