JK Jazz Audio and Video Production
Musicians Jean Taillefer and Kevin Gillespie have been collaborating on musical projects for more than a decade. When COVID hit, Jean and Kevin participated in remote recording projects with musicians in other cities.
Realizing that these projects required additional skills they both enrolled in Berklee. Jean studied arranging while Kevin studied audio and video production. Using the mentorship and knowledge of the Berklee programs, they created JKJazz Audio and Video Production. Under the guidance of his instructors, Kevin built the JKjazz Studio.
Jean and Kevin both recently graduated from Berklee. Since then, they have been arranging and recording some of the top musicians in the city.
Jean Taillefer
Jean Taillefer is a jazz music arranger, composer and guitarist. Jean arranges a variety of musical styles such as jazz, blues, Brazilian and pop music. He is currently composing/recording and arranging original music with some of the best jazz musicians in the Ottawa area.
Jean earned a Professional Certificate in Jazz Arranging from the Berklee College of music in Boston. He studied horn arranging with Jerry Gates and big band arranging with Brian Lewis. In 2023, Jean was invited to come to Boston to have his big band arrangements performed by the Brian Lewis big band.
Jean was born into a family of great musicians. Two brothers are very active on the music scene, guitarist Michel Taillefer in Ottawa and pedal steel guitar player Bob Taillefer in Toronto. The last 30 years Jean has performed and recorded with his brother Bob and several bands in the Ottawa area, mostly notably the 5:15 quintet with Zeke Gross, Big Band Caravan and with Kevin Gillespie in the jazz/fusion band Adesso.
Kevin Gillespie
Kevin Gillespie is an audio engineer, videographer and musician. He has recorded many of the top jazz musicians in Ottawa and is very active creating music videos, podcasts and live-stream events.
Kevin earned a professional certificate in Audio and Video Engineering from Berklee College of Music in Boston. He studied with several top engineers such as Leanne Unger (Leonard Cohen), Alejandro Rodriguez (Afro-Cuban All Stars) and Richard Mendelson (Boston, the Cars).
Kevin is a multi-instrumentalist who sings, plays piano, classical guitar, flute, and harmonica. He was a composer of popular Quebecois music in his younger years and has won several awards for his contribution to Canadian music.