Composers & Arrangers - Richard Gagnon

Richard Gagnon has been a busy and well-known musician on the Montreal jazz scene for well over 25 years, performing with the Vic Vogel Big Band, Guy Nadon, Lorraine Desmarais, JazzLab and the Joe Sullivan Big Band. In addition to his jazz work, over the years Richard has also played with numerous other popular artists, like La Bottine Souriante, Aretha Franklin, Céline Dion, and many others. In 1998, he formed the Richard Gagnon Jazz Quintet as a vehicle for his own compositions and arrangements. With numerous performances and two commercial quintet recordings under his belt, Richard continued in the composing and arranging vein and in 2006 formed a new ensemble consisting of six trombones and rhythm section, “Trombones Actions”. The group’s debut album “Intro” was released in the same year, and the band was featured in the Montreal International Jazz Festival.

With Trombones Actions, Richard was the 2008 winner and 2009 nominee for the Prix Opus, which is awarded for the best jazz concert of the year. In 2010, he recorded his fourth CD and the second with his trombone band, entitled “Richard Gagnon - Trombones Actions + Steve Davis -- Suite”.