Photo Credit:Andi State
Andrés Vial (pronounced Vee-al) is a pianist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, improviser and educator born and raised in Montréal. His compositions are inspired by jazz and popular music, his South American heritage, and several African and European musical traditions.
For his June 8 show at the Jazz Room, he will be joined by bassist Martin Heslop and drummer Ethan Ardelli. They will perform new compositions, material from Vial’s Juno-nominated albums, and music by Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, George Shearing and others.
He has collaborated with Joe Chambers, Peter Bernstein, Ingrid Jensen, Malika Tirolien (Bokanté), Ivan Neville, Michael Blake, Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba, André White, Kevin Dean, Greg Cohen, Al McLean, Kalmunity, Gamelan Giri Kedaton and many others. Active as a leader and sideman, he has performed at over 50 festivals around the world, most recently appearing at the 2019 Vancouver International Jazz Festival and 2022 OFF Jazz Festival in Montréal. He has released 8 albums as a leader, including the Juno-nominated trio albums “Gang of Three” and “When Is Ancient?”.
He holds a doctorate (DMUS) in jazz piano performance from McGill University’s Schulich School of Music. In addition teaching at McGill, he has given jazz piano masterclasses at Dartmouth College, Vanier College and UQAM. He has contributed articles about jazz and improvisation to Downbeat Magazine and Cumulus Press. He also composes music for film and contemporary dance.
Personnel:
Check out: “Gang of Three” “Ferguson”
