Montreal bassist  Alex Bellegarde, finds full expression  through his involvement in wide range of projects.

A prominent artist on the Quebec scene, bassist Alex Bellegarde is a versatile and energetic player with a broad imagination.  Constantly finding new types of projects with which to extend his jazz vocabulary, he collaborates with a wide range of musicians, poets, actors and visual artists and creates music drawn from a wealth of sources.  His compositions, along with a great performance by his quartet, merited the coveted General Motors Grand Jazz Award at the 26th edition of the Montreal Jazz Festival. 

A busy player on Montreal’s effervescent jazz scene, he heads a weekly jam session and plays Latin bass with many Montreal-based Cuban musicians: Jesus Alejandro 'El Nino', Yoël Diaz Y Su Team Timba and Acéré, as well as legendary guest artists on visit from Cuba and the US, such as vocalist Chiquitin and percussionist Candido Camero.

He has also composed music for several Montreal theatre productions: Cornemuse-Théàtre d'Aujourd’hui (in collaboration with Philippe Brault), Emmanuelle Blanche-Centre d’Essai, La Tête Dans Les Nuages-Salle Fred Barry and more recently Hamlet Machine-Place des Arts. Multidisciplinary events include Jazz & Poetry, Espace Olibrius (multimedia),  Émergence Énergie,  Live Painting & Music, to name just a few.

Throughout high school in Quebec's Eastern townships Alex played with the award winning Ensemble Davignon and Stage Band.   Moving to Montreal in 97, he explored the local jazz scene and while playing the ‹jams› met up with bassist Skip Bey.  Inspired and encouraged by Skip, he has gone on to play with bands such as Ohmz, MRJ and the Vic Vogel Octet and in many special events such as the Musicians' Solidarity Show,  Évidemment Jazz and L'Off Festival de Jazz all highly representative of the Montreal jazz scene. 

Festivals

National Jazz Awards Toronto · Festival International de Jazz de Montréal · L’OFF Festival de Jazz de Montréal · Sutton Jazz Festival Jazz à l'Année FIJM · Rimouski Festijazz International · Kingston Jazz Festival · Les Francofolies de Montréal ·Le Festival des Rythmes du Monde de Montréal · Festival des Nuits d’Afrique, Montréal · Les Nuits de Montréal, FIJM · Soirée de la Solidarité musicale, Montréal · International Music Day, Montreal ·  Évidemment Jazz · TrioFF Jazz · Montreal Fringe Festival · Distillery Jazz Festival, Toronto · Fiesta del Sol,  London, Ontario · Festival Latino-Américan de Montréal · Festival Cubain de St Sauveur QC · Festival Voix d’Amériques, Montréal · Francouvertes ·
Coup de Cœur Francophone, Montréal · Les  Festival de la Francophonie, Ottawa ·  International Swing Dance Festival · Festival International de la Chanson de Granby  · Festival Zoopalooza QC.
He has performed also for Radio Canada, CIBL 101.5, Global, Bravo TV and played in clubs across Canada and the U.S.

Discography

Neal Haiduck & Alex Bellegarde Trio Montreal meets New York (2007 Blackwood Productions)
Alex Bellegarde Quartet Caminando (2006 (JTR 8524-2)
Alex Bellegarde Quartet ‘Live’ (2003 CHN-03-333)
Alex Bellegarde One Fine Saturday (2002 VVCD 7782)
Alex Bellegarde Quartet  À Chacun son Tour (2000 AAMOO-1).
 
  
Other participations : Maânouche Swing - Django in Montreal (2008 Indie)  Eval Manigat - Empreintes (2007 Tchaka Productions) Nature Boy Denis Chang (2006 Hot Club Records) Trigo - Campion/Souvenirs (2006 Hot Club Records) Yoel Diaz Y Su Team Timba (2006 M&M001 ) Cherokee - Alex Gordon & Ginny B (2006 Independant )  Lucky Lex & the Adventure (2005 Independant)  Marlène Continente - Fragments (2005 Solar productions )  Abel Hassing Quintette - Live à l’OFF Festival de Jazz de Montréal (2003 Independant ) Montréal Jazz & Blues Plus (2001 VVCD 7778)