For the last twenty-five years Nicolas Caloia has worked at creating a contemporary music generated by using accurately composed material to channel collective improvisation. The goal is a music that erases the lines between improvised and composed, pop and avant-garde, good and bad. He hopes this music will satisfy the body, the mind and, above all, the heart. He has worked as a performer, composer, and organizer in Montreal and has toured in North America, Europe, and Asia. He has performed and recorded in a vast array of contexts with the most important members of Montreal's creative music community as well as with internationally renowned musicians like Marshall Allen, John Butcher, Joe McPhee, Steve Lacy, Hassan Hakmoun, Tristan Honsinger, William Parker, and Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia. His concerts and numerous recordings have been critically acclaimed both at home and abroad. Currently, the majority of his work as a composer and improviser finds a voice in The Ratchet Orchestra, Tilting, and in duet Lori Freedman or Yves Charuest.
"Sa musique aux multiples facettes, presque cubiste, est très vivante et riche à tous points de vue : forme, rythme, harmonie et mélodie." Jean Derome - Maison de la culture Côte-des-Neiges program 2011
"I think the trick with written and improvised material is to try to weave them together and Nicholas is a genius at that " Ellwood Epps, OttawaCitizen, November 26, 2011
"One of Canada's truly original bandleaders and composers "
Scott Thomson - Guelph Jazz Festival program
"Ce musicien a une vraie signature" Alain Brunet - La Presse.
