Alain Mion

Alain Mion (born January 14, 1947, in Casablanca) is a French pianist, composer, arranger, jazz singer, and leader of the band Cortex.

Musical career
Influenced by Bobby Timmons, Ray Charles and Les McCann, his style varies between jazz, soul jazz and "funky music".

Mion created the jazz funk group Cortex in 1974, before embarking upon a career under his own name in 1982.

Cortex's albums "Troupeau Bleu" and Volume 2 have been re-released several times and sampled by many hip-hop artists, rappers 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 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, 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.

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