Home » Jazz Musicians » Eric Normand

Eric Normand

Éric Normand is a composer, improviser, bassist, instrument designer, songwriter and singer and record and concert producer, all in one. He defines himself as an epidisciplinary musician, a free electron driven by its yearning for meetings. In his book, composition cannot exist without exchange, since composition consists in setting up a territory that will facilitate improvisation.

- INSTRUMENTAL FREE IMPROVISATION (electric bass): solo and encounters. Works with Philippe Lauzier, Pierre-Yves Martel, Jim Denley, Lori Freedman, Martin Tétreault, Arthur Bull, etc

- BANDLEADER: Eric Normand 5, Musique de Batailles, Le Veau

- COMPOSITION FOR LARGE IMPROVISERS ENSEMBLES, played by GGRIL (Rimouski), Ensemble SuperMusique (Montreal), VEE (Vancouver), etc

- NOISE: trio p.o.w.e.r, solo project and sound generators design, music for dance

- SONGS (protest): banjo songs trio, Les Pitounes chantent Godin

His music has been programmed by or performed in several festivals in Canada (Festival de Musiques de Création — Jonquière, Reflux — Moncton, Productions SuperMusique — Montréal, Mois Multi — Québec, etc.), Australia (Nownow, Soundout) and Europe (Festival Rue du Nord — Switzerland, Festival des Musiques Insolentes — France, Les Rencontres à l’Échelle — France, etc). They have also been broadcasted by Radio-Canada, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, CBC, Radio-Grenouille, and several college radio stations.

incomplete list of IMPROVISED encounters

Anne_f (electronique) / Gordon Allen (trompette) / Norman Adams (violoncelle) Rut Barberan, Espagne (trompette) / Heddy Boubaker, France (sax) /Arthur Bull (guitare)/ Nicolas Bernier (électronique) / Magali Babin (électronique) / Rémy Bélanger de Beauport (violoncelle) / Austin Buckett, Australie (piano, rhodes) / Sébastien Cirotteau, France (trompette, ordinateur) / Isaiah Ceccarelli (batterie) / Alfredo Costa Monteiro, Espagne (accordéon) / Michel F Côté (batterie) / Coat Cooke (sax) / Tim Croft (piano) / James Darling (violoncelle) / Jim Denley, Australie (sax et flûte)/ Érick Dorion ( électronique) / Evan Dorrrian, Australie (percussions), Ferran Fages, Espagne (tourne- disque) / Bernard Falaise (guitare) / Lori Freedman (clatrinettes / Mario Gauthier (synth analogique, electronique)/ Jean-Luc Guionnet (sax alto, orgue) / Joane Hétu (sax et voix) / Philippe Lauzier ( sax et clarinette) /Kenton Loewen (percussions) / Pierre-Yves Martel (viole de gambe) / Kim Myhr, Norvège (guitare) /Anthime Miller (viole de gambe) / Chad Macquarrie (guitare) / Kristian Naso (trompette) / Chris O"Connor, Nouvelle-Zélande (batterie)/ Tony Osborne, Australie (voix) / John Oswald (sax) / Evan Parker, Angleterre (sax soprano et tenor)/ Nilan Perera (guitare) / Danielle P Roger ( percussions) / Christine Sehnaoui, France (sax alto) /Martin Tétreault (tourne- disque) / Scott Thomson (trombone) / Josh Zubot (violon) etc etc

Gear

self made e bass, self made effect, 1928 slingerland banjo, gallien krueger amps

Brûlez les Meubles: Folio #5

Read "Folio #5" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
March 31, 2025

Brûlez les Meubles (burn the furniture), a Québec-based avant-jazz duo, consists of guitarist Louis Beaudoin-de la Sablonnière from Montreal and electric bassist Éric Normand from Rimouski. Formed out of a shared passion for experimental improvisation and contemporary jazz, the pair has cultivated a distinctive sound over the years. Since their debut in 2016, they have released a series of albums that blend abstract meditation, and gradual ascension with modern simplicity, often collaborating with notable improvisers. Folio #5, ...

Catching Up With

Brûlez les meubles: The Guitar and Bass Duo Who Threw Away the Script

by Lawrence Peryer
January 7, 2025

The name Brûlez les meubles carries a wry irony. While it literally means “burn the furniture" in English, the Québec duo playfully inverts the common French phrase “sauver les meubles" (preserve the essential). This tension between preservation and reinvention defines their artistic approach, especially on their latest album Folio #5 (Tour de Bras/Circum-Disc, 2024). The duo of guitarist Louis Beaudoin-de la Sablonnière and bassist Éric Normand has consistently expanded jazz's possibilities by inviting diverse collaborators into their sonic ...

Take Five With...

Take Five With Eric Normand

by AAJ Staff
July 25, 2013

Meet Eric Normand:Eric Normand is a composer, improviser, bassist, instrument designer, singer-songwriter, and a record and concert producer. He defines himself as an inter-disciplinary musician--a free electron driven by its yearning for meetings. In his book, composition cannot exist without exchange since composition consists of setting up a territory that will facilitate improvisation.His music has been programmed or performed in several festivals in Canada, Australia, and Europe. His music has been broadcasted by Radio-Canada, Australian Broadcasting ...

Rimouski-based artist Éric Normand releasing an album on Monotype, one of the best-rated experimental music labels of today? Cool! And it’s a very strong record to boot, one that highlights his work as a noisician. (...) Despite that, the album features a strong sense of unity, thanks to the noise-based approach that ruled all of these encounters. Convincing stuff. By François Couture in Monsieur Délire (Québec), January 29, 2013

It’s delicate and pulsating music; there isn’t a single wrong move on this live recording from 2010. — Signal to Noise (USA

Normand does a lot more than merely strum his instrument in time, which one has often come to expect from a bass player