Alex Bugnon has created one of the most recognized styles in
today's contemporary jazz piano. It is a sultry mixture of contemporary jazz,
funk, and R&B with hints of gospel. Even the titles of his CDs create
anticipation for a musical experience that is delivered with passion. His
latest album, FREE, reunites him with Atlanta
based keyboardist and producer Phil Davis. After recording FREE and his last
album, SOUTHERN LIVING, in Atlanta,
Bugnon calls this city his second musical home. FREE is a refreshing blend of
exotic rhythms with haunting, soulful melodies and the signature Alex Bugnon
piano sound.
He studied at the Paris Conservatory and the famous Mozart Academy
in Salzburg, Austria. At age nineteen, he moved
to the U.S.
and attended the Berklee School of Music. While a student at Berklee, he
performed with local bands at clubs in and around the Boston area. During that period, he also
performed in church with many gospel groups. In 1985 he moved to New York where he spent
four years working as a session musician and touring with urban and jazz
luminaries such as Patti Austin, Freddie Jackson, James Ingram, Earth Wind and
Fire, and Keith Sweat.
Bugnon began his recording career in 1989 with his debut
album, LOVE SEASON which reached the pop charts and the Top 40 of the R&B
charts as did his 1990 recording, HEAD OVER HEELS. He intrigued his fans again
in 1991 with 107 DEGREES IN THE SHADE, THIS TIME AROUND (1993), and TALES FROM
THE BRIGHT SIDE (1995). Five years later, Alex Bugnon signed with Narada Jazz
and recorded his sixth album, ALEX BUGNON...AS PROMISED, followed in 2001 with
SOUL PURPOSE, which remained on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz chart for 23
weeks. In 2003, Alex recorded for the first time in Atlanta with some of that city's greatest
musicians and titled his album SOUTHERN LIVING.
"After exploring all of the sophisticated and progressive
funk that helped me find my sound, I knew I needed to get back to a sound that
was more laid back and straight to the point, where the songs, rather than
fancy production, are the focus," he says. "With the success of
artists like Norah Jones and Alicia Keys, it's clear to me that, like myself,
people are tired of the overproduced, heavy machine-oriented music that excited
them in the past. These are complicated times we live in, and it's inspiring to
see a trend towards making life simpler and focusing on the more important
things."