Alex Bugnon - Soul Purpose

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:28
Size: 127.0 MB
Styles: Easy Listening, Contemporary jazz
Year: 2001
Art: Front

[4:15] 1. Around 12:15 Am
[3:53] 2. Walking In Rhythm
[4:07] 3. Rio.Com
[4:24] 4. Night Groove
[4:08] 5. Sunset Over Manhattan
[4:07] 6. Faraway
[0:58] 7. Giant Steps
[4:03] 8. Love Song # 2
[4:29] 9. Soul Purpose
[4:17] 10. Strollin'
[3:49] 11. Ewf
[4:05] 12. Changes
[4:06] 13. Can't Get You Out Of My Mind
[4:43] 14. In A Sentimental Mood

Alex Bugnon displays a variety of influences on Soul Purpose, his second album to be marketed as a contemporary jazz release. The title track, as its name suggests, borrows from '60s Memphis soul, even if much of it is played on synthesizers. In his sleeve note for "EWF," he writes, "Learning every Earth, Wind & Fire song was a big part of my musical education." Actually, that tune doesn't sound much like Earth, Wind & Fire, but "Rio.com" (nominally a Brazilian number) and "Changes" certainly do, though Bugnon smoothes out the band's familiar funk rhythms. He attempts to show off his jazz chops on a cover of John Coltrane's "Giant Steps" that sounds more like a studio goof, lasting only a minute, but his version of Duke Ellington's "In a Sentimental Mood" actually shows reverence. These differing genre exercises are the most notable aspects of the album, but they really just provide variety to what is otherwise a fairly pedestrian set of contemporary jazz pieces. As is de rigueur for the genre, a steady, smooth-but-slightly-funky rhythm track underlies a couple of repetitive melodic patterns on each song, over which Bugnon solos on acoustic piano, sometimes adding a Hammond B-3 organ or Fender Rhodes track. His improvisations have narrow limits, and the pieces simply roll along for about four minutes each before fading out. A couple ("Around 12:15 AM," "Can't Get You out of My Mind") have rudimentary vocals consisting of a line or two. It's a formula designed to appeal to smooth jazz radio and is as anonymous as most of what is played on such stations. The Ellington track indicates Bugnon is capable of more, but the blander stuff no doubt pays the bills. ~William Ruhlmann

Soul Purpose

---

Alex Bugnon - Going Home

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:16
Size: 92.2 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[6:00] 1. Oliloqui Valley
[5:08] 2. Silverfinger
[3:07] 3. The World Is A Ghetto
[5:50] 4. Nouthra Dona Di Maortse
[3:20] 5. Jersey Jump
[5:59] 6. Another Love Season
[5:43] 7. Ahmad's Apple
[5:07] 8. Going Home

Montreux-reared Bugnon studied at a music conservatory in Paris before coming to America to continue at Boston’s famed Berklee School of Music. He spent a lot of time playing not only jazz but gospel, gigging on that time-honored southern circuit. Upon graduation he moved to New York. After spending a year driving taxicabs and teaching French at the Berlitz School, he found initial work backing R&B stars such as Patti Austin & James Ingram and Keith Sweat. It was through backing Freddie Jackson that he made the contact at then-new Orpheus Records where he recorded his first two CDs Love Season (1989) and Head Over Heels (1991), making his deepest first impressions with R&B audiences as a soulful instrumentalist du jour. A switch to Sony’s Epic Records family yielded 107 Degrees in the Shade (1991) and This Time Around (1993), upon which time he jumped to RCA Records for Tales from the Bright Side (1995). From there he segued into the four albums he did for Narada Records, an associated label that specialized in smooth jazz and new age.

Beyond his recordings, Alex has built a loyal fan base through constant touring on the club and jazz festival circuits. Just last year he passed the great Dizzy Gillespie’s record of playing Washington, D.C.’s Blues Alley for 12 consecutive Thanksgivings with his own lucky 13th visit. That most recent gig found his new music from Going Home receiving quite the warm welcome. “People in their 40s, 50s and 60s that have all of my CDs were raving about the new songs,” he beams. “At the same time, college students that are more likely to be Radiohead fans were coming up to me saying, ‘I really dug that ‘Silver Finger’ song, man’ - which was really nice to hear!”

“I’m very proud to be heading into this direction,” Alex concludes concerning Going Home, the first release through his own company Xela Productions (“Alex” spelled backwards). “I might not get immediate gratification, but that’s not what this is about. I’m so happy with what I was able to do with the help of my friends. It’s just an unbelievable feeling... The timing of this record could not be more perfect.”

Going Home

---

Alex Bugnon - Harlem

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:27
Size: 134,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:03)  1. Bridging the Gap
(5:09)  2. Pusherman
(5:13)  3. A Night In Tunisia
(3:37)  4. River Seine
(4:27)  5. Summer Soft
(4:19)  6. Lush Life
(6:37)  7. A House is Not a Home
(4:55)  8. Stompin' at Mikell's
(5:42)  9. Manhattan Lullaby
(5:32) 10. Up There on the Mountain
(5:16) 11. Jungle Bells
(2:31) 12. Witness

New York, NY…..Jazz pianist Alex Bugnon’s 12th and newest release, HARLEM, is sure to dispel any notion that he can be musically stereotyped.   Though he has been one of the most prolific and influential Smooth Jazz artists on the scene for more than two decades, HARLEM demonstrates that Alex’s virtuosity is anything but predictable. On this latest CD, Alex mixes it up offering the listener some of his own original compositions and flavoring the album with a playlist of classic tunes that he fashioned in his own inimitable style.  Alex pays homage to the likes of Dizzy Gillespie & Frank Paparelli (Night in Tunisia), Curtis Mayfield (Pusherman), Stevie Wonder (Summer Soft), Billie Strayhorn (Lush Life), and Burt Bacharach (A House is Not a Home).

A rare and uniquely gifted artist, Alex Bugnon has never shied away from the affiliation to the Smooth Jazz genre rather, he has resisted been compartmentalized when there is so much more to the man and his music. HARLEM is layered with his nuanced performances, beginning with “Bridging the Gap”, an original composition that lays the foundation, by offering the listener his signature musical styling and piano phrasing.   This is followed by a funky, neo-soul tribute to the classic hit of the 70’s, “Pusherman”.  Here you can clearly hear his early R&B, soulful influences garnered touring with artists like Patty Austin & James Ingram, Melba Moore and Freddy Jackson. Alex offers up a super cool version of the classic, “A Night in Tunisia” and employs Maysa’s distinctive and elegant vocals on the beautifully romantic tune, co-written with Martha Redbone, “River Seine”. 

On this album, Alex transitions from the present to the past with ease; from one side of the musical spectrum to the next, using his diverse musicality to bridge the genres, and in the process illustrates his absolute mastery of the keyboard.   He jams smooth and easy on the up-tempo rendition of “Summer Soft” and seamlessly steps into a highly sophisticated version of “Lush Life”.  Every one of the twelve tracks on this album presents a different side of the artist. HARLEM is an acknowledgement of Alex’s absolute love affair with music in all of its variances and a testament to his artistic evolution and unrestrained capacity for taking risks.  http://ejazznews.com/?p=20345

Harlem

---