Raôul Duguay

Raôul Duguay is a Québécois musician who co-led the early 1970s jazz-rock band L’Infonie. As a solo artist, he debuted with the 1975 Capitol release Alllô Tôulmônd and made four further albums through the 1978 title Vivant avec toulmond, followed by three Eighties albums on Trente-Trois.

Background

Raôul Duguay was born on February 13, 1939, in Val-d’Or, Quebec. The seventh of eleven children, he grew up in Abitibi and spent part of his adolescence at Hospice Saint-Joseph-de-la-Délivrance in Lévis. Duguay took up trumpet at fifteen and developed an interest in jazz. He attended seminaries in Amos and Chicoutimi and earned a 1964 philosophy degree from Université de Montréal. He taught philosophy and aesthetics at Collège Sainte-Croix and in 1965 co-founded the literary magazine Passe-partout. His first poetry collection, Ruts, appeared the following year on Éditions Estérel.

In 1967, saxophonist Walter Boudreau invited Duguay to recite poetry and play trumpet with his jazz group at the Expo 67 Youth Pavilion in Montreal. They formed L’Infonie, a variable collective that combined free jazz, phonetic poetry, and experimental stage performances. L’Infonie cut the 1969 Polydor debut André Perry présente L’Infonie at Studio André Perry, followed by Vol. 33: Mantra, an adaptation of the Terry Riley piece “In C.” Duguay recited his poem “Paix” on the 1972 Kot’ai double album Vol. 333.

Duguay also performed with L’Infonie at the March 1970 Nuit de la poésie in Montreal. He recited “Kébèk mon beau bébé” at the January 1971 Poèmes et Chants de la Résistance concert at Théâtre Gesù, preserved on the second Transworld album of that name. During a French engagement that year, Duguay opened for singer Hugues Aufray at the Bobino music hall in Paris. He left L’Infonie around 1972 as Boudreau concentrated on instrumental repertoire. In October, Duguay published “La bittt à Tibi” as a poem in Le Devoir.

In March 1975, Duguay presented his one-man stage production Alllô tôulmônd’ at Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui, with music by André Angelini. He also performed on “Les Porches de Notre-Dame” from the 1975 Harvest release Les Porches, the second album by Maneige.

For his solo debut, Duguay reunited with L’Infonie guitarist Michel Lefrançois, who arranged several songs and shared the music credits on “Alllô tôulmônd” and “Tôuttt etô bôuttt.” Duguay wrote the lyrics for “Le chemin” to music by Ville Émard pianist Yvan Ouellet, who also brought the song to the 1975 Funkébec album Ville Emard. Violinist Monsieur Pointu joined Duguay and Lefrançois at a studio session for “La bittt à Tibi.” Michel Lachance produced, engineered, and mixed the eight-track sessions under artistic director Pierre Dubord for the 1975 Capitol debut Alllô tôulmônd.

Discography:

• Alllô Tôulmônd (1975)
• L’envol (1976)
• La Bittt a Tibi (1976)
• M (1977)
• Vivant avec toulmond (1978)
• Le chanteur de pomme (1982)
• Douceur (1985)

References and notes

• Raôul Duguay — PhiloTR, November 6, 2012. Birthplace, seminary studies, 1964 philosophy degree, teaching, Passe-partout, early publications, and Paris performances. (Biographical chronology)
• Raôul Duguay — François Couture, AllMusic. Early trumpet studies, L’Infonie partnership, phonetic performances, and departure for solo work. (Artist biography)
• L’Infonie — JazzRockSoul. Expo 67 meeting with Walter Boudreau, collective formation, early personnel, and 1969–74 album chronology. (Artist history and discography)
• Raôul Duguay — official discography. Confirms the 1971 Transworld recording of “Kébèk mon beau bébé” and early L’Infonie albums. (Collective recordings)
• Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec — La bittt à Tibi. Archival documentation of the March 1970 Nuit de la poésie, October 28, 1972, poem in Le Devoir, and 1975 studio photograph with Michel Lefrançois and Monsieur Pointu. (Archival references, pp. 1–2)
• Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui — Alllô tôulmônd’, March 20–April 12, 1975. Original stage production, dates, and André Angelini music credit. (Theatre production archive)
• Maneige — Les Porches, November 1975. Duguay vocals and trumpet on “Les Porches de Notre-Dame,” the opening suite of the Harvest album. (Album credits and chronology)
• Ville Émard Blues Band — Ville Emard, 1975. Confirms the Ouellet–Duguay writing credit for “Le Chemin” on the Funkébec album. (Album documentation)
• Raôul Duguay — Alllô tôulmônd, Capitol ST-70.036, 1975. Original label photographs verify lyrics and music credits, arrangements by Duguay, Lefrançois, and Angelini, plus production and engineering by Michel Lachance and artistic direction by Pierre Dubord. (Museum of Canadian Music — original LP labels)