Article

Laurence Jalbert

Published Online May 22, 2012

Last Edited March 4, 2015

Jalbert dreamt of singing since the age of 10. Self-taught in piano, organ and synthesizers, she played the organ in bars at age 16 when she first began appearing on stage. She also played the trumpet, percussion and bass in various bands.

Laurence Jalbert

 Laurence (Lise) Jalbert. Pop and folk-rock singer-songwriter, born Rivière-aux-Renards Que 18 Aug 1959.

Early career

Jalbert dreamt of singing since the age of 10. Self-taught in piano, organ and synthesizers, she played the organ in bars at age 16 when she first began appearing on stage. She also played the trumpet, percussion and bass in various bands.

Jalbert credits love of her native Gaspé region for inspiring her folk rock style. Her childhood idols included British singer Petula Clark and Canadian Renée Martel, and she has admired James Taylor, Kate Bush and the Québec poet Pierre Morency.

Jalbert's trademark has been her four-octave voice range, expressing a wide spectrum of colour from crooning in soft melodies to belting in love (torch) songs, both her own and as covers of popular hits. Another signature, which the Québec press has often equated with her fiery vocal abilities, has been her long wavy flaming-red hair.

In the mid-1980s, Jalbert joined the band Volt and they won the contest L'Empire des futures stars in 1987, with the English single "Nobody knows", although she has usually performed in French.

Career Success

Jalbert had her first major success in 1989 when she struck out on her own with the song "Tomber". She attended the Lafayette Louisiana Cajun French Music festival, and her eponymous album was released in early 1990, including the hits "En courant", "Les yeux noirs", and " Au nom de la raison" on the Audiogram label. It earned platinum by December 1990, and was later released in France under the Vogue label. She was by now acknowledged as a composer and songwriter.

In 1990 Jalbert was honoured at the Gala de l'ADISQ winning Félix awards for discovery of the year and best video (for "Tomber"); and nominated in four other categories: best composer with Guy Rajotte; best female singer; best rock single; and best first recording. Corridors was named best pop/rock album in 1994.

In June 1991, Jalbert joined Québec legends Diane Dufresne, Paul Piché, Michel Rivard and Gilles Vigneault at the St-Jean-Baptiste celebrations in Québec and Montréal. She then participated in the Francofolies de La Rochelle (France), and the Festival international de Louisiane (USA). Laurence Jalbert appeared on stage 150 times that year, garnering the prize for show of the year at the Festival d'été de Québec in 1992.

Jalbert toured Québec for several years, and in 1995, she again performed in France at the Festival Québec 32 in the province of Gers (Brittany).

Avant le Squall was released in 1998, earning a Félix nomination for best pop/rock song which led to a Québec tour with Dan Bigras and inspired the live album Communio, recorded at the Spectrum de Montréal (2000).

The album ...et j'espère appeared in 2001, with original material, and Jalbert embarked on a nine-city tour of France. A greatest hits compilation Ses plus grands success in collaboration with French icons Michel Berger and France Gall followed, as did a Christmas album, Le Noël des Anges (2004). Audiogram soon released Sur la route ... Évidemment in CD and DVD formats.

Jalbert's next original creative effort was Tout porte à croire, in 2007. In the summer of 2010, her version of Petula Clark's "Je me sens bien auprès de toi" hit the top of the charts in Québec and was included in the 2011 album "Une lettre" now under her own label: Laurence Jalbert Productions. Having suffered and overcome several serious health concerns over the years, 2012 successfully marked Jalbert's 37th year on stage.