A native of Port-au-Prince, David Bontemps studied piano with Serge Villedrouin. Based in Montréal, he published several recordings, including Offrandes Vodouesques, a cycle of 24 songs by Werner Jaegerhuber (1900-1953), premiered with soprano Chantal Lavigne. With a grant from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the Canada Council for the Arts, he released Vibrations, a disc dedicated to his best piano works. Gede Nibo, his variations on a theme by Ludovic Lamothe (1882-1953), followed. He is the founder and leader of Makaya, a Creole Jazz quintet nominated for the TD Grand Jazz Award. In 2021, his suite Traces was selected for a creation by the National Ballet of Canada, and the Tulsa Opera in Oklahoma premiered two of his songs on poems by Marie-Ange Jolicœur.

Appreciated for their profound originality, instrumental and vocal works from his catalogue have already been performed in the Americas and Europe. “The clear and bare note brought back to its source, the country lightness or the growling striking, the art of groove or intimate elegance on a few touches: David Bontemps draws a barrier-free universe by sailing as well on the tunes of the soil and voodoo songs as on jazz or western or Haitian art music. Inspiration is abundant…”, Yves Bernard, Le Devoir.