Alain Mion (born January 14, 1947 in
Casablanca
Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
) is a French pianist, composer, arranger, and jazz singer.
Musical career
Influenced by
Bobby Timmons
Robert Henry Timmons (December 19, 1935 – March 1, 1974) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He was a sideman in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers for two periods (July 1958 to September 1959; February 1960 to June 1961), between which he w ...
,
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...
and
Les McCann
Leslie Coleman McCann (born September 23, 1935) is an American jazz pianist and vocalist.Feather, Leonard, and Ira Gitler (2007), ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'', p. 448. Oxford University Press.
Early life
Les McCann was born in ...
, his style varies between
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
,
soul jazz
Soul jazz or funky jazz is a subgenre of jazz that incorporates strong influences from hard bop, blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues. Soul jazz is often characterized by organ trios featuring the Hammond organ and small combos including ten ...
and "funky music".
He created the jazz funk group
Cortex
Cortex or cortical may refer to:
Biology
* Cortex (anatomy), the outermost layer of an organ
** Cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the vertebrate cerebrum, part of which is the ''forebrain''
*** Motor cortex, the regions of the cerebral cortex i ...
in 1974, before embarking upon a career under his own name in 1982.
His albums are known worldwide, notably ''"Troupeau Bleu"'' and "Volume 2" with Cortex (re-released several times and sampled by many musical artists and DJs). Also popular were albums under his own name, including ''"Pheno-Men"'' which was used as a theme for many radio programs, "Alain Mion in New York" recorded with David Binney and Marc Johnson, and "Some Soul Food" recorded in Stockholm (Sweden) with Patrik Boman and Ronnie Gardiner.
In 2008, he appeared with a new group, ''Alain Mion FunKey Combo'' (with German drummer Michael Kerstin, Swedish bassist Patrik Boman, and a saxophone section consisting of Italian and French musicians: Loïc Soulat on alto, Pietro Tonolo on tenor and Romano Pratesi on baritone) then with his new group ''Alain Mion & The New Cortex'' which reunited for concerts at
New Morning
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
in 2009-10, with the singer Adeline de Lépinay reprising the role originally performed by Mireille Dalbray on the Troupeau Bleu album.
Filmed in concert and broadcast by
Mezzo TV
Mezzo is a French television channel devoted to classical music (including opera and ballet), jazz and world music. It was formed in 1992 and was called France Supervision until 1998. In 2010 it added a sister channel, Mezzo Live HD.
In Ja ...
, the group's repertoire included both new and old compositions of Alain Mion, reflected in the new album "Let's Groove", released on Trad Vibe Records and presented during a concert in Paris at Petit Journal Montparnasse en 2012.
In the United States, Alain Mion and Cortex's songs have been sampled by several hip-hop artists (including Madlib, Fat Joe, DJ Day, MF DOOM, Wiz Khalifa, Curren$y, Mellowhype, Tyler The Creator, Rick Ross, and Lupe Fiasco).
Alain Mion's and Cortex's records are often played on contemporary jazz stations such as KCRW in Los Angeles and The Jazz Groove Radio in San Francisco.
2022, After several sold out concerts in Europe, Alain Mion has signed exclusively with Mark Green's Celebrity Talent Agency, NYC. First American tour of Cortex "Troupeau Bleu" * expected in September and October (CITY HALL WILIAMSBOURG, New York, DESERT DAZE FESTIVAL, Perris, LODGE ROOM, Los Angeles, UC THEATRE, Berkeley, EMPTY BOTTLE, Chicago...) produced in large part by Art Don't Sleep which announces several dates already sold out.
* Troupeau Bleu USA Tour : Alain Mion, Maeva Borzakian, Mohamed Ouaraz, Loic Soulat, Cedric Affre.
Discography
With Cortex
* ''
Troupeau Bleu'' (Sonodisc) LP
* Mary & Jeff (Sonodisc) Single
* Les Oiseaux Morts (Sonodisc) Single
* ''
Vol. 2'' (Sonodisc) LP
* Caribou (Arabella/Wea) Single
* ''