Marion Meadows & Alex Bugnon

7401 E. 1st Ave ,Denver CO 80230

21 January, 2022

Description

Marion Meadows & Alex Bugnon UNDER 21 WITH PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN Marion Meadows, Alex Bugnon Marion Meadows and Alex Bugnon return to the Dove! Marion Meadows started playing tenor sax in high school, and then migrated to soprano sax. His passion for various types of music led him down an eclectic musical path. He was intrigued by the styles of jazz musicians, like Stanley Turrentine, Sidney Bichet, Johnny Hodges, John Coltrane, Sonny Stitt, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Dexter Gordon, Cannonball Adderley, Coleman Hawkins, Sonny Fortune, Joe Henderson, Grover Washington and many others. After studying jazz at Rippowam High School in Stamford, CT with Anthony Truglia, Meadows attended Berklee College of Music. There he majored in arranging and composition. He later went to the SUNY Purchase School for the Arts. During his college years he played in a number of bands including disco, R&B and various jazz ensmbles. I got a lot of sideman jobs in college, and I have always said I got my real graduate degree playing clubs, says Meadows, who perfected his craft studying with Sonny Fortune, Joe Henderson, Dave Liebman and Eddie Daniels. “Not long after I finished school, (drummer) Norman Connors recorded one of my songs, “Invitation” and then asked me to join his band. I later produced his Passion album with my colleague Jacques Burvick (Aquarium Dream) . Things just fell into place. Meadows first hit the airwaves in 1991 with “For Lovers Only”, but his career really began one day in the late ‘80s at New York’s Grand Central Station. He had been a sideman with Connors for three years, with only vague notions of eventually going solo. One day, while waiting for a train, he pulled out his horn and began playing under the huge dome. His sweet sound caught the attention of fellow traveler, producer and TV composer Jay Chattaway, who happened to be passing by on his way to the train. Chattaway was so impressed with Meadows’ sound that he hooked Meadows up with legendary keyboardist Bob James. Meadows and James collaborated on a recording which unfortunately went unreleased. The experience put him on the road to his eventual success. Meadows hooked up with numerous artists and musicians and became a well known sideman in his own right, recording or performing over the years with Brook Benton, Eartha Kitt, Phyllis Hyman, Jean Carne, The Temptations, Michael Bolton, Angela Bofill, Will Downing , Bob Baldwin, Chuck Loeb, John Lee, among many others. In the late ‘80s, Meadows stretched his boundaries by becoming a member of a New York avant-garde band called the Aboriginal Music Society. In 1990 Meadows submitted a solo project to Steve Backer at Novus/RCA and was signed to a recording contract, thus marking the beginning of his solo career. Meadows’ first RCA release “For Lover’s Only” was a huge success and was followed by his ground breaking “Keep it Right There” album. He became a staple of the contemporary jazz format with his subsequent recordings, which include Body Rhythm (1994) and Forbidden Fruit (1996), Passion (1997), Another Side Of Midnight (1999), Next To You (2000), In Deep (2002), Players Club (2004), Dressed To Chill (2006), Secrets (2009) Whisper (2013) and most recently Soul Traveler, the first installment of his Soul Trilogy which now showcases his current release, Soul City" on the New York based Shanachie Label. Alex Bugnon has been a prolific, energetic force on the contemporary music scene for almost three decades. A renowned musician, composer and bandleader, Bugnon hales from the picturesque town of Caux, Switzerland – 4 miles above Montreux, site of the world famous Jazz Festival. No doubt, the annual convergence in his hometown and in his own home, of some of music’s most illustrious names played a role in his decision to pursue a musical career, as did his early friendship with Herbie Hancock. The fact that his uncle was the legendary Donald Byrd only served to further his decision. Bugnon left Montreux to continue his training at the Paris Conservatory before landing in Boston to study at the Berklee School of Music. It was here in the U.S. that his exposure to a diversity of musical styles, from R&B to gospel, Jazz and funk, began to shape and influence his personal sound. Shortly after moving to New York City, Alex began touring with almost every R&B artists, such as Melba Moore, Freddie Jackson, Patti Austin, James Ingram and Glenn Jones to name a few. But it would be his encounter with saxophonist Najee that would ultimately turn the tide for him. Signed to Orpheus Records, Najee would make the introduction that would result in Alex’s first recording contract. Marion Meadows, Alex Bugnon