Jean-Pierre Zanella

A saxophonist, composer and arranger, Jean-Pierre Zanella is very much in demand on Quebec’s music scene. He earned his master’s degree in jazz from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York in 1982. Since then, he has developed strong ties and has recorded with Brazilian artists Marcos Valle, Altay Veloso and Boca Livre, pianist Marcos Ariel, and several instrumentalists from Canada and the U.S. The Brazilian government has recognized Zanella with the honorific Order of Rio Branco. Released in April 2020, his latest work, Rio Minas, was nominated for a Félix and an Opus Prize in the jazz category. In 2011, he won the Oscar Peterson Prize at the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal, for his contribution to the Canadian jazz scene.