Alain Mion (born January 14, 1947) is a French pianist, composer, arranger, jazz singer, who serves as leader of the band

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 ...

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 ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

and

Les McCann Leslie Coleman McCann (September 23, 1935 – December 29, 2023) was an American jazz pianist and vocalist. He is known for his innovations in soul jazz and his Swiss Movement, 1969 recording of the protest song "Compared to What". His music ha ...

, 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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

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 sa ...

and "funky music". Mion created the jazz funk group

in 1974, before embarking upon a career under his own name in 1982.

's albums ''"Troupeau Bleu"'' and ''Volume 2'' have been re-released several times and sampled by many

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

artists,

rappers Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing b ...

and DJs. Artists who have sampled Cortex include: Madlib, Fat Joe, DJ Day, MF DOOM, Wiz Khalifa, Curren$y, Mellowhype, Tyler The Creator, Rick Ross, and Lupe Fiasco. Mion's album's ''"Pheno-Men"'', "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, have been used as a theme for multiple radio programs. In 2008, Mion 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 Morning'' is the eleventh studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on October 21, 1970 by Columbia Records. Coming only four months after the controversial ''Self Portrait'', the more concise ''New Morning'' rec ...

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, broadcasting 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. 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.

Discography

With Cortex

* '' Troupeau Bleu'' (Sonodisc) LP * Mary & Jeff (Sonodisc) Single * Les Oiseaux Morts (Sonodisc) Single * ''Vol. 2 (Album de Cortex)'' (Sonodisc) LP * Caribou (Arabella/Wea) Single * ''Pourquoi'' (Crypto/RCA) LP * Meddley : Mary & Jeff-Devil's Dance (Sonodisc) Maxi * Cuvée Spéciale (Compilation Crypto/RCA) LP * Best of Cortex (Jazz'in/Next Music) CD * Cortex Inédit '79 (Underdog Records) CD + digital album * Cortex Inédit '79 "Japanese limited edition" + bonus track(Underdog Records) LP * The Unreleased Versions : "Les Oiseaux Morts" + "Mary & Jeff" (Trad Vibe) Single

Under his own name

* Phéno-Men, T.Bones Square (Caravage/Carrere) Single * Phéno-Men, All Along (Caravage/Carrere) Maxi * Phéno-Men (Caravage/Carrere) LP+K7 * No'Mad, Un autre Be Bop (Olivi/Media7) Single * No'Mad (Olivi/Media7) LP+CD * Alain Mion in New York (Elabeth/DAM)CD * Some Soul Food (Caravage/Jazz'in/Next Music) CD * Alain Mion Solo CD à paraître * Alain Mion Trio live on tour in Europe (Underdog Rec)CD * Alain Mion & His FunKey Combo, Groovin’ in Paris (Caravage/Believe) digital album * Alain Mion & The New Cortex "Let's Groove" (Trad Vibe Records) LP

Re-releases

* Cortex Troupeau Bleu(Pulp Flavor) CD et Vinyl * Cortex Volume 2 (Follow Me Records/Nocturne), CD et Vinyl * Alain Mion in New York (Jazz'in/Next Music) CD * Some Soul Food (Ward Records Japan) CD * Pheno-Men (Caravage/Believe) digital album * Some Soul Food (Caravage/Believe) digital album * Alain Mion in New York (Caravage/Believe) digital album * Cortex Troupeau Bleu nouvelle réédition (Underdog Rec) CD + Vinyle + digital album * Cortex Pourquoi (Trad Vibe) LP + CD + digital * Trilogie de Cortex (Troupeau Bleu, Vol.2, Pourquoi) Trad Vibe Records/Pusher Distribution, Vinyle et CD

Other albums and compilations

* La Guêpe, Vol.1 (Pulp Flavor) CD et VinyleSavoir Faire (Plein Gaz Productions) CD et Vinyle * Opération Heritage (Hutch Productions) Vinyle * Sound of Music (Galaxy Music) CD * Compilation Park Hyatt Tokyo Airflow (Milan Music/Universal)CD et Vinyle * Compilation Nightmares on Wax "Late Night Tales" (Azuli Records), en compagnie de Quincy Jones, et Tom Scott - CD et Vinyle * Sensations Louisiane (Warner Music) CD * Jazz Bar 2005 (Disk Union TOKYO) CD * French Groovy Jazz (Caravage/Believe) digital album * French Cool Jazz (Caravage/Believe) digital album * French Latin Jazz (Caravage/Believe) digital album * Coffret "5 CD Gospel"(Warner Music) CD * French Piano Jazz (Caravage/Believe) digital album * French Organ Jazz (Caravage/Believe) digital album * French Blue Jazz (Caravage/Believe) digital album * Timeless, Park Hyatt Paris Vendôme (Discograph)CD * Music for silent movies, vol. 2 (Caravage/Believe) digital album * Modern Gospel & Negro spirituals(Caravage/Believe) digital album

References

External links

Site d'Alain Mion
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mion, Alain French jazz pianists French jazz singers 1947 births Living people 21st-century French pianists 21st-century French male musicians French male jazz musicians French male jazz pianists