Lorraine Desmarais
Biography
Lorraine Desmarais (pianist, composer) was born in Montreal on August 15, 1956. In 1986 she was the first Canadian to win the Great American Jazz Piano Competition. Influenced by Oscar Peterson and Chick Corea she earned a Masters Degree in Classical Piano and is currently a professer of jazz piano at Cegep Saint-Laurent. Desmarais has recorded seven albums as solo performer and musical director and received the 2002 Oscar Peterson Prize from the Montreal International Jazz Festival.