Liza Minnelli
Liza Minnelli was born on 12 March 1946 in Los Angeles, California, to the actress/singer Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli, the film director responsible for such classics as “Meet Me in St. Louis” and “An American in Paris.”

She began her career at a very early age, co-starring with her mother in the movie “In the Good Old Summertime” in 1949. At the age of 10, Liza hosted the first-ever TV broadcast of “The Wizard of Oz,” reaching a viewing audience of about 45 million people.

By the time she was 19, she had landed the lead role in “Flora, the Red Menace.” This Broadway performance won her a Tony for Best Actress in a musical.

In 1967 she went on to star in several films that showcased her superb acting abilities (“Charlie Bubbles,” “The Sterile Cuckoo,” and “Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon”).

In 1972, her movie career peaked when she played Sally Bowles in “Cabaret.” The film won eight Oscars, including Best Actress for Liza. The role also earned her a Golden Globe and a British Film Academy Award. The unqualified success of “Cabaret” put Liza on the covers of Time and Newsweek in the same week. Liza also starred in the first concert ever filmed live for television in 1972. “Liza with a Z” produced a Top 20 album and won the Emmy for Outstanding Single Program. It will be re-released soon as a DVD.

Liza went on to appear opposite Robert DeNiro in the musical “New York, New York,” directed by Martin Scorsese, in 1977.

In 1981, she co-starred with Dudley Moore in the movie “Arthur,” going on to make the sequel “Arthur 2” in 1988. Liza added a second Golden Globe to her already impressive list of awards in 1985 with her performance in “A Time to Live,” a made-for-TV movie. In 1989, she produced an album with Britain’s Pet Shop Boys called “Results” that was a huge hit all over Europe. In 1997, Liza took over from an ailing Julie Andrews in Broadway’s “Victor/Victoria.”

Liza returned to the Stage in December 1999 to pay tribute to her father in a show called “Minnelli on Minnelli” at New York’s Palace Theater.

Shortly after the CD of “Minnelli on Minnelli” was released in February 2000, Liza was hospitalized for encephalitis. The prognosis was grim: she was told that she would never walk, talk, dance or sign again. But Liza’s incredible will, determination and relentless hard work proved them wrong, and by June 2002, she was back on stage at the Beacon Theater in New York. Her triumphant comeback album entitled “Liza’s Back!” was released in October 2002.

Liza continues her extraordinary music career with ongoing concert tours in the U.S. and Europe, as well as recording a new album. She will also continue to make us laugh as the hilarious Lucille Austero on TV’s Arrested Development.

Tracy Young
To make it in the cutting edge world of club DJs and re-mixers one must be versatile, innovative, and adaptable. If you’ve been keeping up with the global club scene, then chances are that your ears have feasted on the potent blends of Dance, House and Tribal rhythms served up by the hard hitting Miami-based Tracy Young.

Energetic and wildly creative, Young has worked her magic on a repertoire of remixes with some of the world’s top artists, including Madonna and the Pet Shop Boys. Whether its is at Miami’s Crobar or Liquid, at the Roxy in New York or the Unity in Montréal, Young leaves nothing to chance, infusing her signature style to create hypnotic rhythms and eclectic sounds with a fierce dance spin.

Marjo
Born in Montréal on 2 August 1953, Marjo enjoyed a childhood filled with music. At the age of two, she was already earning 25 cents each morning from the mechanic next door by singing P’tit coeur après neuf heures. As a child at the family cottage in the suburb or Rawdon, she would run through the open fields, singing and letting her voice echo against the nearby mountains. Around that time, she began to record her voice on the tape recorder her father had given her.

At the end of high school, she followed in the footsteps of her older sister, taking secretarial courses. She worked for three years at a CEGEP (a Québec community college). Later on, she discovered new passions in photography and fashion. She then met Pierre Dury, a popular photographer at that time, and began to work closely with him. Pierre quickly became one of the most important people in her life and their professional relationship developed into a more personal one for about five years. She also worked for many years as a photographer and fashion coordinator for MADAME magazine.

It was in 1975 that Marjo made her real start in music. François Guy hired her for his stage musicals Tout chaud, tout show and L’Île en ville. Between productions, she worked as a waitress at the Faubourg St-Denis. Around that same time, she was the manager of l’Air du temps, a popular jazz and blues bar.

In 1979, Marjo began to focus on writing music and lyrics, thanks in great part to Pierre Harel, founder of the group Corbeau, who produced five albums in six years along with numerous tours. Illégal, their third album, was certified gold. This was the beginning of her rock period: “Life is rock’n’roll. It’s better to live one day at a time and let the future bring what it will.” Her musical journey with Corbeau ended in 1984.

From 1984 to 1986, Marjo prepared to launch her solo career. She sang the blues at Bistro à Jojo, all the while writing new songs for her first solo album, Celle qui va. The album sold 200,000 copies and earned four Félix awards.

From 1988 to 1990, she was hard at work on the music and lyrics of her second solo album, Tant qu’il y aura des enfants, which was released in the spring of 1990 and was certified platinum. Her second album also earned four Félix awards. This album features some of her most popular songs, Je sais je sais, Tant qu’il y aura des enfants, À bout de ciel and Provocante !

In 1995, Marjo was back with her third solo album, Bohémienne. Once again, each song on the album, with the exception of La cruauté d’aimer, bears the hallmark Marjo/Millaire style. In 1997, Marjo discovered a new passion: the blues. She and her creative partner Jean Millaire, accompanied by the Johnny Blue Band, performed a repertoire of English-language blues at many festivals. She then launched her album Bootleg Blues. After touring for a year and a half, Marjo withdrew to the peaceful landscapes of Québec’s Charlevoix region to get back to writing. Four years later, she released her fourth solo album, Turquoise.

With more than 50 songs to her credit, Marjo continues to work closely with Jean Millaire, her guitarist and composer. Marjo is a veritable living legend on the history of Québec music.

Mélanie Renaud
Discovered by the record house, Diffusion YFB and the management firm, Projet D2 at the age of 17, this young Montrealer, Haitian by birth, was recognized at the 1998 Festival international de la chanson de Granby. Two years later, she launched her first album, Ma liberté, for which she herself wrote many of the lyrics with the support of writers such as Jim Corcoran, Éric Lapointe and Sylvain Cossette.

She was a back-up singer for Éric Lapointe and participated in popular television shows such as Lécuyer, La Fureur, and the 2000 edition of the ADISQ Gala.

A part of the global Nu Soul wave inspired by the musical style and spirit of the sixties and seventies, her album, Ma liberté, won Francophone Album of the Year at the Canadian Independent Music Awards in March 2002. She then performed in the musical, The 10 Commandments, whose cast included Mario Pelchat, Marie-Ève Janvier and Boom Desjardins. Mélanie was also part of the Sortie de filles event, performed in the Salle Wilfrid-Laurier in the Place des Arts with Céline Bonnier, France D'Amour, Lulu Hugues, Sylvie Moreau, Sophie Prégent and Nanette Workman. This incredible year was crowned with a Félix Award for the Révélation de l'année at the 2002 ADISQ Gala.

In August 2003, she became the spokesperson for the celebrated voice school, Prochant. In 2004, television monopolised her time, combining all her talents. For her third appearance at the Fête nationale, she performed two songs by the famous lyricist, Luc Plamondon: "Ziggy" and "L'amour existe encore". So impressed was he by her interpretation of his work, Plamondon not only cast her in the role of Esmeralda in his new blockbuster production, "Notre-Dame de Paris", he also supplied some lyrics for her new album. A regular performer on the Québécois scene, Mélanie has performed at the Fête nationale du Québec, the FrancoFolies de Montréal, and the Festival d'Été de Québec. She has also performed at the FrancoFolies in Spa, Belgium.

After her involvement in the collective work, "Les étoiles de Noël", in November 2004, she dedicated her time to the development and recording of her second album, simply entitled "Mélanie Renaud", which was released in the spring of 2005 on the Sphère Musique label.