Jean-Michel Blais Essentials

Jean-Michel Blais works with the kind of churning rhythms and spare melodies that characterize music termed “post-classical,” but he indulges in more playfulness and draws from a broader base of inspiration than many of his peers. Born in Quebec, the pianist and composer spent his post-conservatory years globe-trotting, searching for meaning outside of the academic-music world. He returned to playing by recording instinctive and emotive piano music with an inviting, homespun quality. His 2016 debut album, II, combines intimate ambience with musical grandeur and virtuosity, his compositions building toward flurries of figures that sound like much more than one instrument (“il”). Acclaim for the album led to a series of releases on which Blais embraces his abilities as an improviser and experiments with electronics. On his 2022 album, aubades, he expanded his performance forces beyond himself for the first time, writing for chamber ensemble and drawing from early-music styles (“passepied”).