Sylvain Gagnon, Hong Kong-based jazz bassist, has new album out

Canadian bassist Sylvain Gagnon accepted an invitation in February 2000 from Eugene Pao to play in a "dream band" of international players the local guitarist was assembling for a tour.

Gagnon liked the band - which included Japanese drummer Tamaya Honda, Ted Lo on keyboards and Filipino saxophonist Tots Tolentino - but he liked the weather in Hong Kong even better. "Just before that it had reached a record low of -15 in Montreal," Gagnon recalls. "I thought 'That's my cue'. I had a life plan to move to a warmer place."

Gagnon played accordion as a child, moving later to guitar, and finally settling on the bass. He plays both the upright double bass and various bass guitars. "I discovered jazz in my teenage years. I was very impressed by the virtuosity and the intellectual prowess of the musicians," he recalls.

"It's mathematical and I always had a logical pragmatic mind. I studied to be an electronic engineer, but after two years I decided to take a sabbatical, and then I realised I should stick to what I really loved, which was play jazz. I was hooked by the virtuosity and the feeling that can be expressed."

While still living in Canada, Gagnon earned a formidable reputation for the precision and the expression of his playing. He recorded and gigged with some A-list international jazz names, including pianist Joey Calderazzo and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts, and established his own record label, Lost Chart Records.

He moved to Hong Kong full-time on June 1, 2000, and after a few years in Discovery Bay bought a home in Mui Wo where he set up a home studio. "I like it here. I wouldn't live in the city itself, but Lantau is a quiet place, full of nature," he says.