Tom Jacques is a multi-instrumentalist and sound artist. His work evolves between composition, improvisation, performance and sound device design, mainly in contemporary music, jazz, and percussion. For the last 5 years, he has been working with various artists and technicians in order to make his own musical instruments and sound installations. This approach allows him to explore unique musical universes that are unattainable with conventional instruments.
Tom Jacques stands out among Quebec’s new breed of creative artists. Many of his personal projects and musical ensembles have been acknowledged and supported by the Conseil des Arts et Lettres du Québec through its Bas-Saint-Laurent arts and literature program and its Bas-Saint-Laurent territorial partnership program . He is also supported by the Canada Council for the Arts , and is the recipient of the Bas-Saint-Laurent Best Newcomer Award.
Tom is the Artistic Director of the percussion trio Bascaille, a co-artistic director of the jazz quartet Manta, and a member of the GGRIL (Grand Groupe Régional d’Improvisation LIbre, which means “large regional free improvisation group”. He regularly collaborates with artists of all stripes as a musician, composer, and consultant. In 2017, he exhibited a sound device entitled “Comment Où le Son” at a travelling exhibition of the organization Voir à l’Est, and a follow-up entitled “Trajet Pas Pareil” at the 2018 Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville (FIMAV).
This young artist is strongly involved in the cultural community. Currently president of Arte Tracto and director of Culture du Bas-Saint-Laurent, he helped set up Garage à musique de la Haute-Gaspésie, a pilot project inspired by Montréal’s GAM, which uses music to help young people lessen the negative impacts of their harsh living conditions. The GAM’s services are free.
