"Playing in a duo is a whole different experience, it brings the whole idea of a conversation into the equation–it has more intimacy," explains bassist Alain Caron.

And an intimate jazz experience is exactly what Caron and pianist Francois Bourassa plan to deliver this Saturday night at the Yardbird Suite.

"It will be like a conversation between six-string acoustic bass and acoustic piano. Our material will be 90% original but, in the jazz tradition, where we will introduce a thought or melody, and improvise on that almost immediately."

A professional musician for most of his life, Caron was first introduced to jazz while in his early teens. He was playing guitar in a Top 40 band by age 10, and at the tender age of 14 he discovered the music that would become his life’s work and passion.

"I bought a couple of jazz records, Oscar Peterson Live in Chicago, and a Dizzy Gillespie, but it was the playing of [bassist] Ray Brown on the Oscar Peterson record that hit me. I couldn’t figure out what he was doing, it blew me away and I knew that was what I wanted to do."

Although he considers himself self-taught, Caron spent some time at the Berkley College of Music in Boston "checking out where I was musically as far as my technique was concerned, but also taking ear training, harmony, studying composition, the whole thing. Just about as soon as I got to Boston I started gigging with the be-bop heavyweights in the area, including Tom Harrell, Sal Nestico, and Bob Moses."

At the same time Caron was a member of the jazz-fusion group UZEB, based in Montreal. He was soon faced with a tough decision: stay in school or head home to be part of the band.

"I chose UZEB and, to this day, I’m glad I did. UZEB is the source of everything I know and who I am today. I learned to compose in a group that had no limits; learned about sound, recording, studio work, learned how to behave on the road and how to be a band leader."

UZEB released 10 discs over about a dozen years, won numerous awards, and toured the world nearly non-stop. UZEB decided to call it a day in 1991 because, as Caron says, "We decided we all had to be 100% ourselves, the group was great but being in a group is a balance of compromises and we all felt it was time to grow as individuals. I wanted to be a leader and composer on my own, and I was ready."

He’s since released a half-dozen recordings under his own name, appeared on dozens working with other artists, was voted "Bass Player of the Year" eight consecutive years by The Jazz Report, won two Hagood Hardy Awards for original jazz composition, and has taught bass around the world.

This weekend Caron, with his six-string acoustic bass in tow, has the chance to wear a different sort of creative hat.

"Francois [Bourassa] and I have worked together before and I love it. Doing this type of show gives me a chance to dig deeper into intimacy in my playing. It is a different challenge to play in a group with no drums–the space between the music can be as expressive as the music itself. In fact, I’m planning to record a duet record early in the New Year and I hope to have the writing for the album done by Christmas."