Post-Classical Pianist Jean-Michel Blais Shares Debussy-Inspired Piece “passepied” From Upcoming Album

With his new album aubades out February 2022 via Arts & Crafts, post-classical pianist Jean-Michael Blais has shared his orchestral new single “passepied”. Inspired by its namesake – a popular Breton dance from the Middle Ages – the single is a cheerful and charismatic piece that captures movement, passion, and emotion – with a side of Debussy.

With an ensemble behind him, the Montreal-born musician has made a transition from pianist to composer on the new record. Written during the pandemic and following a break-up, aubade finds a place of positivity and lifted spirits, named after the Middle Ages morning love song about lovers separating at daybreak.

Despite the difficult global and personal backdrop, Blais described the time writing this album as a “fruitful moment of creativity for me. We started having hares in the park, beautiful butterflies flying everywhere. It was a time of lots of blossoming, and also a moment when I blossomed from being a pianist into a composer.” Blais found himself leaning towards major tonalities, which he believes are surprisingly rare in modern classical piano music. “With this album, I was definitely responding to certain trends,” Blais reckons. “For example, the fact that the solo piano tends to sound melancholic. That’s good, but I’ve done that already, I wanted to go beyond that.”

Jean-Michel Blais will be taking aubades on the road in 2022. Full tour dates can be found below, and listen to the latest single here:

2022 TOUR DATES

Mar 27 – London, UK – Purcell Room
Mar 30 – Hamburg, DE – Nachtasyl
Mar 31 – Berlin, DE – Planetarium
Apr 1 – Cologne, DE – Altes Pfandhaus
Apr 2 – Copenhagen, DN – XXX
Apr 4 – Oslo, NO – Röversatden
Apr 6 – Amsterdam, NL – Concertgebouw
May 6 – Clermont-Ferrand, FR – La Comédie
Jul 9 – Montreal, QC – Montreal Jazz