Jean-Michel Blais

Jean-Michel Blais is a Canadian pianist whose primarily improvised work recalls composers such as Erik Satie and Maurice Ravel as well as minimalists like Philip Glass. His works are spontaneous and emotional rather than clinical and technically precise, and he often incorporates experimental production techniques into his recordings. Blais grew up in Quebec and started playing organ and piano as a child. He began training as a classical pianist at the Trois-Rivieres Music Conservatory, but was more interested in pursuing his own path. After spending time in Berlin and South America, during which he sporadically created music, he moved to Montreal and began taking music-making seriously again.