Montreal jazz drummer and bandleader Bernard Primeau, who was poised to release a new album Tuesday, has died at age 67.

Primeau, who played for years with pianist Oliver Jones and bassist Charlie Biddle, died Monday after a battle with cancer.

He had previously announced he would not attend Tuesday's launch of his latest album Rencontre Jazz et Classique — which he described as the "album of his career" — due to ill health.

Born in Montreal in 1939, Primeau picked up his drumsticks early on and studied at the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec. He began his professional career while still in his teens, playing in the city's clubs and cabarets. One of his early gigs included playing drum rolls in a strip club.

Playing with Jones and Biddle, Primeau eventually grew to become one of Montreal's best-known jazz musicians and travelled across North America and Europe to perform. In the 1980s, he formed his own band, the Bernard Primeau Jazz Ensemble, with which he released 11 albums.

His credits include winning two Félix Awards (Quebec's annual musical honours) for Best Jazz Album of the Year and receiving the Oscar Peterson Prize in 2005 at Montreal's International Jazz Festival for his contributions to Canadian jazz.

The launch of Primeau's final album Rencontre Jazz et Classique — which he recorded last year with Quebec chamber orchestra Les Violons du Roy — will take place as scheduled Tuesday night at Montreal's Gesù theatre and concert hall.

As planned, the evening will be a homage to Primeau, featuring performances by his friends, colleagues and some of the musicians who played on the new album.

With files from the Canadian Press.