For over twenty years, Alain Bédard has enjoyed a prolific career with his Auguste Quartet, which he has taken to the four corners of the globe. Faithful to his original music, the ensemble has performed in dozens of countries on four continents, racking up hundreds of concerts in Asia, Mexico, the United States, Europe, Russia, Africa, and especially in Canada and Quebec, his native land.
With seven albums to their credit - Auguste, Sphère Réflexion, Bluesy Lunedi (finalist at ADISQ and JUNO in 2010), Homo Pugnax, Circum Continum and Exalta Calma (awarded by Couleurs Jazz, France) - the group continues its journey with a new opus: Particules Sonores (also hailed by Couleurs Jazz as “best album”), a project both elusive and timeless.
This collective is a singular voice of modern jazz: a music that tells a story, that breathes, that evolves. The group plays with notions of time and space with intelligence and sensitivity. The production highlights individual strengths as much as group cohesion. Faithful to its acoustic roots, this new incarnation of the Auguste Quartet illustrates a rare complicity between exceptional musicians, where origins fade away before the raw force of collective creation. The exchange is lively, the inspiration flows - free, spontaneous, without borders.
Following the death earlier this year of our colleague and friend Mario Allard (saxophone), the Auguste Quarter continues its adventure with a new line-up. Erik Hove : alto sax, compositions ; Marie-Fatima Rudolf : piano, compositions; Alain Bédard : double bass, compositions; Michel Lambert : drums, compositions.
Alain Bédard was in creative residency at the Studio du Québec in Rome, thanks to a grant from the Conseil des Arts et les Lettres du Québec. He is the recipient of the Prix OPUS “Rayonnement à l'étranger” for the year 2024 from le Conseil Québécois de la Musique.
“We pay tribute to our colleague Mario Allard, who passed away on January 12, 2025. For ten years, he was by our side, contributing with passion and talent to our journey.”
