Béatrice Bonifassi
Betty Bonifassi | |
---|---|
![]() Bonifassi performing in 2009 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Béatrice Bonifassi |
Born | c. 1971 (age 52–53) Nice, France |
Origin | Montreal, Canada |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, session musician |
Instrument(s) | Vocals |
Formerly of | Beast |
Béatrice "Betty" Bonifassi (born c. 1971) is a Canadian vocalist based in
Personal life
Bonifassi was born in
In 1997, Bonifassi met her now ex-husband,
Work with DJ Champion
In the late 1990s, Benoît Charest and Montreal DJ and musician
In 2004, Bonifassi collaborated with Morin once again (performing as "DJ Champion") on his 2004 debut album,
"I heard Betty singing those blues songs, and she was the girl for that job," said Morin.[15]
With the success of Chill'em All, Bonifassi toured for over two years with "Champion & His G-Strings".[16] In 2008 the pair recorded a version of 1957 Screamin' Jay Hawkins hit "I Put a Spell on You" to be used as the theme song of the Québécois film Truffe.[17][18]
Les Triplettes de Belleville
Bonifassi and Charest collaborated on the soundtrack for the animated film The Triplets of Belleville (Les Triplettes de Belleville); the film's main song, "Belleville Rendez-vous", was nominated for an Oscar in 2004 and the pair performed the song, along with Maxime Morin, at the 76th Academy Awards ceremony.[6][8]
Bonifassi stated in a 2004 interview that the experience of performing at the Oscars was "magnifique!"[11]
"It was a magic moment that I shared with my husband; I thought it was brilliant!"[11]
Her work on the Oscar-nominated film "opened doors" for her. After the buzz following her Oscars performance, she got many offers from large record companies in North America and abroad, to record jingles and an album in the same Django/chanson réaliste style;[6][11] Bonifassi turned down the offers for fear of being pigeonholed, but has stated that she does not discount recording in this style in the future.[11]
Beast
Bonifassi joined forces with percussionist, record producer, and fellow French expat Jean-Philippe Goncalves, to form the band Beast. They released their first album in November 2008.[12]
Beast's sound has been compared to
"Simon really understood my dark side and the sadness of the moment," says Bonifassi. "I really wanted to sing something lyrically rich and powerful."[3]
Goncalves has also stated that the name Beast suits their project very well: "Betty is a real beast," he jokes, "a bête-de-scène."[3]
Beast's debut album was made available on iTunes as of 4 November 2008; its official commercial release was 18 November 2008.[10]
At the end of 2010, Bonifassi and Goncalves announced that they would be taking an indefinite break from the Beast project.[19][20] Although when asked in a June 2011 interview for Voir whether her break from Beast was a final one Bonifassi replied: "Disons que le retour de Beast n'est pas dans mes plans actuels" ("Let's say the return of Beast is not my current plans.")[21]
Goncalves stated in an interview that the split was not due to any quarrel between himself and Bonifassi.[19] Citing lagging album sales, frustration with the record industry, the tiresome effects of touring, and familial commitments (Bonifassi's son was 9 years old at the time of the split), the bandmates said they would be working separately on their own local projects.[19][20][21]
Solo work
During an interview with Danielle Leblanc of
After Bonifassi and Goncalves announced that they would be taking an indefinite hiatus from the Beast project in late 2010,[19][20] Bonifassi began to focus on solo projects including a performance at the Festival Montréal en lumière on 24 February 2011—making it her first solo performance since her break with Beast.[22][23] Her performance included renditions of songs by Édith Piaf and Berthe Sylva, as well as a song by the Franco-Monégasque composer Léo Ferré.[23]
Bonifassi performed at the 2011
In 2014, Bonifassi released a self-titled CD in which she interpreted traditional songs of slaves and prisoners, plus two original cuts, "Working It Down" and "How Does It Feel." In 2016, she followed up with a similar CD entitled Lomax, after ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, who had archived the traditional songs in question (see Slave Songs of the United States.)
In 2018, in collaboration with
References
- ^ a b c Bernier, Sophie. ”Beast”, CHYZ FM, Mar 7, 2008 Archived 15 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine (French text) Retrieved 5 November 2008
- ^ McMahon, Rob. "Beast's creepy sound",Metro, Oct 17, 2008 Retrieved 5 November 2008
- ^ a b c d Charpentier, Lorraine. “Bêtes de scène >> Montreal’s Beast pairs a famous singer with a beatsmith to the stars”, Montreal Mirror, Mar 13 – Mar 19, 2008, Vol. 23 No. 38 Archived 5 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 5 November 2008
- ^ a b c Leijon, Erik. "Beast Emerge from the Champion Camp", CHARTattack, Apr 9, 2008[usurped] Retrieved 5 November 2008
- ^ a b MacNeil, Jason. "Collaboration brings out the Beast", Toronto Sun, Jan 29, 2009 Retrieved 6 May 2011
- ^ a b c d Cormier, Sylvain. "Ben et Betty voient triple", Le Devoir, Jan 9, 2004 (French text) Retrieved 5 November 2008
- ^ a b c d Bonifassi’s interview with Monique Giroux of Radio-Canada, Sep 13, 2004(French text and audio) Retrieved 5 November 2008 Archived 5 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b “Oscar nominee headlines M For Montreal”, NME news, Oct 31, 2006 Retrieved 5 November 2008
- ^ Bottenberg, Rupert. "Viable geometry, instant poetry >> French transplant Deweare finds momentum in Montreal", Montreal Mirror, Apr 19–25, 2007, Vol. 22 No. 43 Archived 5 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 5 November 2008
- ^ a b Shenker, Jake. "BEAST in concert", Mondo Magazine, Oct 1, 2008 Retrieved 5 November 2008
- ^ a b c d e f Bonifassi’s interview with Danielle Leblanc of Radio-Canada, Sep 17, 2004 (French text and audio) Retrieved 5 November 2008
- ^ a b Sasseville, Andreanne. "Beast", Urban Male Magazine, 2008 Archived 4 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 5 November 2008
- ^ Devlin, Mike, "Laptop loaded, DJ hits the road", Times Colonist, 24 March 2007
- ^ Benson, Denise, "Champion & His G-Strings", Eye Weekly, 23 November 2006
- ^ a b Bottenburg, Rupert. “Personal Best >> Montreal’s Champion goes for gold”, Montreal Mirror, Jan 27 – Feb 2.2005 Vol. 20 No. 31 Archived 3 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 5 November 2008
- ^ a b Robillard Laveaux, Christian. “Bonifassi… Do”, Voir, Feb 7, 2008 (French text) Retrieved 5 November 2008
- ^ Rhéaume, Julie. "Le film «Truffe» ouvrira le festival Fantasia le 3 juillet", Showbizz.net, Apr 16, 2008 Archived 21 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine (French text) Retrieved 5 November 2008
- ^ "Truffe au Festival Fantasia", LeCinema.ca, Apr 16, 2008 Archived 7 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine (French text) Retrieved 5 November 2008
- ^ a b c d Coudé-Lord, Michelle. "Beast prend une pause de plusieurs mois", Canoe.ca, Nov 24, 2010[usurped] (French text) Retrieved 6 May 2011
- ^ a b c Léveillée, Antoine. "À la prochaine, si Dieu le veut", Voir, Dec 9, 2010 (French text) Retrieved 6 May 2011
- ^ a b c Robillard-Laveaux, Olivier. "Béatrice Bonifassi - Une rencontre réaliste ", Voir, Jun 16, 2011 (French text) Retrieved 12 September 2011
- ^ Rhéaume, Julie. "Montréal en lumière: Carole Bouquet, coprésidente d'honneur", Branchez-Vous, Dec 1, 2010 (French text) Retrieved 6 May 2011
- ^ a b Rezzonico, Philippe. "Le laboratoire de Béatrice Bonifassi", Rue Frontenac, Feb 17, 2011 Archived 18 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine (French text) Retrieved 6 May 2011
- ^ Rodriguez, Juan. "Deep talent lineup includes nod to past greats", Montreal Gazette, Apr 12, 2011 Retrieved 6 May 2011
- ^ Gendron-Martin, Raphaël. "Programmation en Salle Des Francofolies", Canoe.ca, Nov 4, 2011[usurped] (French text) Retrieved 6 May 2011
- ^ Betty Bonifassi's profile on the FrancoFolies website Archived 26 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine (French text) Retrieved 6 May 2011
- ^ Cyr, Jean-François. "Béatrice Bonifassi: charmant délire à la française", Canoe.ca, Sep 9, 2011[usurped] (French text) Retrieved 12 September 2011
- ^ The Globe and Mail: Montreal jazz festival cancels, apologizes for Robert Lepage slave-song show
- ^ "Statement by the Festival on the cancellation of performances of SLĀV". nouvelles.equipespectra.ca. Retrieved 11 July 2018.