Alex Bugnon - biography

"Alex Bugnon’s chops are simply wicked."
- R&R

"Alex Bugnon has soul and street."
- Pitch

Montreux-born keyboardist Alex Bugnon’s soulful, funky contemporary jazz has set him apart from his peers. His new album SOUL PURPOSE reflects his singular approach to music. It grew from a pun Bugnon kept making while recording the base tracks at his home studio in Garrison, New York. "Thinking about the grooves and the influences of artists like Earth, Wind & Fire, and Rodney Franklin, I wrote music for the 'sole purpose of the soul' which is to touch emotions with melody and get the feet tapping with rhythm. I’m less concerned about showing off my chops these days and more into remembering the soulful aspects of music which got me excited about it in the first place."
	Bugnon’s R&B pedigree is, in fact, perfectly legitimate. He gigged with the gospel groups Clara Mahomes and The Gospel Leviticus while attending the Berklee College of Music (after attending the Paris Conservatory of Music for two years), and later spent four years in New York recording and touring with Patti Austin, Freddie Jackson, James Ingram, and Keith Sweat. His 1989 debut LOVE SEASON, which reached #2 on the Billboard R&B charts, was nominated for best jazz album at the Soul Train Awards. Soul Train similarly honored Bugnon for his 1991 release, 107 DEGREES IN THE SHADE. Bugnon was also honored by Black Radio Exclusive as Best New Artist for his chart-topper, HEAD OVER HEELS.
Inspired by his jazz musician father, and uncle, trumpet great Donald Byrd, Bugnon cultivated his love for a wide range of jazz and soul-based artists and styles – from Memphis Slim and Bill Evans to Herbie Hancock, Thelonius Monk, Art Blakey, and Earth, Wind & Fire. "They used to take me every year to the Montreux Jazz Festival, which was a hometown affair," he says. "I was inspired by everything I heard, and knew from my early teens that I was going to be a professional musician. When I was six years old, I saw my first Aretha Franklin concert on her first European tour…WOW! I remember having a huge reaction to her music, and felt that my later experiences playing gospel helped me progress as a jazz player."
A nod to his funk origins, Bugnon’s 2000 Narada Jazz debut, ALEX BUGNON…AS PROMISED was one of the year’s most popular contemporary jazz hits. After five years of touring, Bugnon made a promise to his fans eager for a new album. "The album and its title really spoke to the people who asked me…I hope they knew it was for them." By all accounts, his scores of fans around the world received the message loud and clear. . . . AS PROMISED soared to #5 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz chart and dominated top slots on radio airplay charts.
Throughout his performing and recording career, Bugnon has learned the fine art of simplicity. "On my early recordings, I was not as fully ‘inside’ the piano as I am now. With practice, experience, and simply the process of maturing as a musician, I’ve learned to use the piano to its fullest capacity. In this way, I’m paying homage to my mentors like Herbie, Art Tatum, and Bill Evans. In the past, there was always too much going on – big arrangements that used a million tracks, for example. I’m trying harder to expose the melody now, and the further I go, the more minimal I like to make the production. The new songs have the piano at the forefront, and I think they are more exciting to listen to."
The 14 tunes of SOUL PURPOSE play like a spirited and funky travelscape through the many jazz-related genres that have tickled Bugnon’s fancy. There’s the bright and bouncy, strutting pocket grooves of After 12:15 AM and Walking in Rhythm followed by the cool Brazilian-breeze- meets-shuffling-hip-hop vibe of Rio.com. Magical romance abounds on the silky, elegant Love Song #2 and Strollin’ (which features Bugnon’s shimmering Fender Rhodes sound).

The irrepressible gospel spirit comes through on the wild-hearted, blues and brassy title track (which also fuses a vintage ’60s soul sound with modern hip-hop sensibilities). Changes, with Bugnon’s high-stepping Hammond B-3 drives, will get anyone’s feet tapping. Bugnon also pays tribute to two of his traditional jazz heroes with a whimsical twist on John Coltrane’s Giant Steps and a beautiful solo piano ballad version of Duke Ellington’s In a Sentimental Mood. Engineer Michael Conrader left the tape rolling while Bugnon, unaware, started playing the song as the crickets chirped outside the window. "He played it back and I knew it had to be on the album," muses Bugnon.

The recording process of SOUL PURPOSE took a poignant turn with the September 11th terrorist attacks on New York City. The principal tracks were completed the night before and Bugnon was set to go into the city the next day to mix. The day after the tragedy, still determined to finish the project and not give into the spirit of fear, Bugnon drove into Manhattan. He cruised along a deserted West Side Highway and saw what looked like thousands of angels in the haze of smoke that engulfed the city. From that moment of inspiration, Bugnon dedicates the Joe Sample-influenced Sunset Over Manhattan to the heroes and victims of the attacks.

"Music can be such a powerful healing force during a time like this," he says, "and it’s the one art form you can immerse yourself in to ease your mind and heart, even if only for an hour or so at a club or listening to the stereo. I always write music for my fans first, and it’s my hope that this album will have an even truer ‘soul purpose’ now for them than I originally intended."