Jocelyn Ménard

Jocelyn Menard was born in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada, in 1961. In 1980, he completed the jazz studies program at Concordia University. In 1988, he accepted a position in the French department of Guadeloupe, teaching saxophone and flute at the center musical Robert Mavounzy. In 1987, he began traveling to New York on a regular basis in order to study with George Coleman and also traveled to Paris to study harmony with Bernard Maury. Seeking to perfect his talents, he participated in workshops given by Dave Liebman in Paris in 1992 and with Arturo Sandoval, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and Max Roach in Martinique in 1993. Upon his return to Guadeloupe in 1993, he took up an active role in the education program at the école de musique Armand Siobud, as coordinator of the school's jazz department. He created many jazz groups in Guadeloupe and played in numerous festivals. He has performed with Guadelupean musicians Charly Chomereau-Lamotte, Edouard Benoirt, Happy Lewis, André Condouant, les freres Bernard, Michel Sardaby, Philippe d'Huy, Raymond d'Huy, and Raymond Grego. In 1990, as part of the Mozaik Jazz Quintet, he opened for Chucho Valdés and Stanley Jordan at the Festival de Jazz de la Guadeloupe. During a short stay in Paris, he became a member of both Tito Puente's Orchestra and the Paris Jazz Orchestra. He has also played with Norman Deveault, Norman Guilbeault, Francois Theberge & the Medium Band, Charito, and Sylvain Gagnon. ~ Paula Edelstein