About this concert
bio only available in french.
le légendaire groupe de jazz funk psychédélique d'Alain Mion
Fondé par le pianiste de jazz, compositeur, chanteur, chef d'orchestre et arrangeur Alain Mion *, Cortex est aujourd'hui un groupe culte pour de nombreux jeunes dans le monde entier.
Alain Mion :
Il est né à Casablanca en 1947 (76 ans) - père soldat dans l'armée française - et a grandi à Paris.
La famille est très musicienne et au Maroc, sa grand-mère, pianiste, accompagne les films muets dans les cinémas et certains artistes français en tournée en Afrique du Nord (V. Sardou).
Très jeune, il découvre la " musique jazz " avec les albums des Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Bobby Timmons, Oscar Peterson, Miles Davis puis... le plus grand Ray Charles !
A 14 ans, sa grand-mère lui offre son premier piano, de marque Klein, et à 16 ans Alain découvre John Coltrane et McCoy Tyner mais aussi Les Mc Cann et Wynton Kelly.
A 19 ans, il se produit avec son propre trio au célèbre Blue Note de Paris, puis dans divers festivals aux côtés de Hank Mobley, Philly Joe Jones ou Hal Singer. Il avoue n'avoir pris qu'une seule leçon avec le grand pianiste français Georges Arvanitas, qui lui a ouvert de nouvelles perspectives harmoniques.
Passionné de composition, de retour du service militaire - au cours duquel il découvre Sergio Mendes et Brasil 66 - il compose des morceaux qui deviendront quelques années plus tard le répertoire du Troupeau Bleu de Cortex.
La discographie d'Alain avec Cortex ou sous son nom, comprend plus de 60 disques, rééditions et compilations distribués internationalement sur des labels français, européens, japonais, anglais et américains.
(Ses albums les plus remarquables sous son nom : Pheno Men - Alain Mion à New York avec le bassiste Marc Johnson, David Binney et Tom Rainey - Some Soul Food enregistré en Suède avec Patrik Boman et Ronnie Gardiner).
This event will be presented in the regular format, the public will be standing*.
*Seating may be available on the balcony, provided that it is open to the public.
- All ages -
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Cortex Biography
here is hardly any comparison for the first time one hears the legendary French Jazz-Funk band, Cortex. Like tearing a sports car down the Côte d'Azur, their crisp bass lines and seductive piano stabs conjure fantasies of playful hedonism, sun-drenched luxury, and escape. Among the numerous European groups that absorbed American Funk and Jazz influences during the 1970s, few are as celebrated, or as mysterious. Over the years, their music has made its way to global audiences through Hip-Hop. As it stands, Cortex is one of the most sampled artists from France, appearing in tracks from Tyler The Creator, Flying Lotus, Conway The Machine, and most notably MF DOOM & Madlib. Join Jazz Is Dead as we welcome the iconic group back to US and Canada.
There is little information available online about Cortex’s elusive founding member, Alain Mion. Born in Casablanca shortly after World War II, Mion was raised in Paris. By the late 1960s, he had formed his own trio, and was regularly gigging in Parisian nightclubs, as well as sitting in with visiting Americans such as Hank Mobley and Philly Joe Jones. In 1974, Mion founded Cortex with drummer Alain Gandolfini, and recruited talented session musicians, as well the singer Mirelle Dalbray to round out the group. Their first two albums, Troupeau Bleu and Vol. 2, brought them great attention across Europe from TV and radio stations and remain their most well-known works.
Today, their impact among instrumental acts remains stronger than ever. Groups like High Pulp, Hiatus Kaiyote, and many others are descended from the group’s psychedelic blend of Funk and Jazz. Though they were only briefly active, the music of Cortex shaped tastes and for future generations while remaining an impenetrable mystery.
Read MoreThere is little information available online about Cortex’s elusive founding member, Alain Mion. Born in Casablanca shortly after World War II, Mion was raised in Paris. By the late 1960s, he had formed his own trio, and was regularly gigging in Parisian nightclubs, as well as sitting in with visiting Americans such as Hank Mobley and Philly Joe Jones. In 1974, Mion founded Cortex with drummer Alain Gandolfini, and recruited talented session musicians, as well the singer Mirelle Dalbray to round out the group. Their first two albums, Troupeau Bleu and Vol. 2, brought them great attention across Europe from TV and radio stations and remain their most well-known works.
Today, their impact among instrumental acts remains stronger than ever. Groups like High Pulp, Hiatus Kaiyote, and many others are descended from the group’s psychedelic blend of Funk and Jazz. Though they were only briefly active, the music of Cortex shaped tastes and for future generations while remaining an impenetrable mystery.
Jazz
Acid Jazz
Post Punk
Jazz Funk
Punk
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