New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu



Alex Bugnon - WBGO Presents All That Jazz at Hamilton Stage

Saturday, April 19, 2025 @ 8:00pm



Hamilton Stage at Union County Performing Arts Center (UCPAC)
360 Hamilton Avenue, Rahway, NJ 07065

WBGO presents All That Jazz, a unique series showcasing some of the genre’s most talented and respected performers! This month features smooth jazz pianist Alex Bugnon. This series is a partnership between UCPAC and Smooth Jazz NJ.

Enjoy an evening of smooth jazz, beginning in the WBGO Piano Lounge. Come early to enjoy cocktails and live piano music from the phenomenal Leonieke Scheuble on the Fazioli piano before the performance – doors open one hour before showtime.

About Alex Bugnon

Jazz pianist Alex Bugnon has been a prolific, energetic force on the contemporary music scenefor more than two decades. A renowned musician/composer/bandleader, Bugnon hales from the picturesque town of Montreux, Switzerland – 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 a music conservatory in Paris before landing in Boston to further hone his skills at the famed 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 and funk, began to shape and influence his personal sound. He toured the south playing with Gospel Leviticus and after graduation from Berklee, had the opportunity to play in bands backing R&B greats Patti Austin, James Ingram, Melba Moore, Freddie Jackson, and Keith Sweat. In between gigs he drove cabs and taught French at the Berlitz School as a means to support his musical career. 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.

His first album, Love Season (1989), with the fledgling record label, catapulted the virtual unknown to prominence and set him on his musical course.  The album rocketed to number 2 on the R&B charts and was nominated for best jazz album at the Soul Train Awards. In 1991, Alex released his second album for Orpheus, Head Over Heels, and like the first, it became a chart topper cementing his position as a radio and fan favorite on the R&B and smooth jazz circuit, earning him Black Radio Exclusive’s Best New Artist Award.

It was no coincidence that Alex was embraced by an R&B/soul audience; after all, his love of music was rooted in an appreciation and understanding of classic jazz and soul-based artists, from Memphis Slim and Bill Evans, to Herbie Hancock, Thelonius Monk, Art Blakey and Earth, Wind and Fire. This was his inspiration, and it easily translated into his own compositions and in his delivery of the standards.

In 1991, he parted ways with Orpheus Records and signed with Epic to record his award-winning third album, 107 Degrees in the Shade (1991) for which he received a Soul Train Award. He would release one more album under the Epic label, the bestselling, This Time Around (1993), before signing with RCA for Tales from the Bright Side (1995), before taking a five-year hiatus from recording.

As the new century began, Alex was also beginning anew. Signed to the Narada/EMI label he resurfaced, with the first of four albums for the label; As Promised (2000) followed by Soul Purpose (2001), Southern Living (2003) and Free (2005). Then in 2007, a chance meeting with award-winning producer and label founder, Michael Cuscuna, resulted in a comprehensive compilation album, The Ultimate Alex Bugnon, featuring cuts from each of his past recordings, and giving Alex a taste of what he had always been in search of – control. The Ultimate Alex Bugnon was released on Michael Cuscuna’s Mosaic label and provided Alex the time needed to give thought to his creative process and allowed him to return to what was important to him as an artist, as a composer and as a musician.

Bugnon continued touring, but used the in-between time to reflect and re-evaluate every aspect of his personal and career journey.  The result of this introspective period was his 2010 release, Going Home, recorded under his own label, Xela Records. The album incorporated a traditional sextet format, with trumpet, saxophone and trombone added to his trio, and featured old friends, drummer Poogie Bell and bassist Victor Bailey.

Over these past few decades, Alex Bugnon has built a strong and loyal fan base across the country and around the world.  His tour schedule has never eased, even besting the great Dizzy Gillespie’s record of appearances at Washington, D.C.’s Blues Alley.  He makes it a point of never missing a day of piano practice or of writing. If he is not composing, he is listening to his favorite artists and biggest influences: Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, Red Garland, Kenny Kirkland, Mulgrew Miller and Keith Jarrett.

As the year comes to a close, Alex has released his 12th album – HARLEM, the second on Xela. HARLEM is a mix of original compositions and his personal take on beloved and well-known songs including the classic A Night in Tunisia, Curtis Mayfield’s Pusherman, Stevie Wonder’s Summer Soft and Burt Bacharach’s A House is Not a Home. Alex makes his home in the historic village of Harlem, New York, and maintains his connection to his beloved Montreux.




For information on how your event can be listed, click here



 

Advertise with NJ Stage for $50-$100 per month,
click here for info

FEATURED EVENTS

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.


Frisson

Frisson Winds

Thursday, July 10, 2025 @ 7:30pm
The Morris Museum Back Deck
6 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown, NJ 07960
category: music

Click here for full event listing

 

Candlelight

Candlelight Concert: Tribute to Queen and The Beatles

Friday, July 11, 2025 @ 7:00pm
Monmouth University - Pollak Theatre
400 Cedar Avenue, West Long Branch, NJ 07764
category: music

Click here for full event listing

 

Damn

Damn The Torpedoes - The Music of Tom Petty

Friday, July 11, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
217 E. Main Street, Tuckerton, NJ 08087
category: music

Click here for full event listing

 

There,

There, There (A Tribute to Radiohead)

Saturday, July 12, 2025 @ 8:00pm
Asbury Lanes
209 4th Avenue, Asbury Park, NJ 07712
category: music

Click here for full event listing

 

Band

Band Infusion Musical Night by GG

Saturday, July 12, 2025 @ 7:00pm
New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC)
11 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
category: music

Click here for full event listing

 

More events

Event Listings are available for $10 and included with our banner ad packages




 

Advertise with NJ Stage for $50-$100 per month,
click here for info


 

EVENT PREVIEWS

Lizzie

Lizzie Rose Music Room presents Griffin House

(TUCKERTON, NJ) -- Lizzie Rose Music Room presents Griffin House on Wednesday, September 10, 2025 at 7:30pm. Griffin is an American singer-songwriter and storyteller. Touring and making records for over 20 years, House has a discography that includes over 13 albums.



Grammy

Grammy Award Winner Raphael Saadiq to Bring "No Bandwidth" Tour to NJPAC

(NEWARK, NJ) -- Get ready to experience an exceptional performance by Raphael Saadiq at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) on Thursday, October 2, 2025 at 8:00pm. This highly regarded one-person show, entitled "No Bandwidth," will highlight Saadiq's extraordinary talents through a compelling blend of storytelling and musicianship. Attendees can anticipate an unforgettable evening filled with artistic excellence.



Dave

Dave Koz brings his Summer Horns tour to MPAC in August

(MORRISTOWN, NJ) -- Get set for a night of smooth summer jazz and funk with a touch of the sounds of the 1970s when Grammy-nominated saxophonist Dave Koz comes to Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC) as part of his Dave Koz & Friends Summer Horns 2025 tour on Wednesday, August 6, 2025 at 7:30pm.



A

A Chat with Jasper Smith of Straight No Chaser Which Brings its "Summer: The '90s Part 2" Tour to STNJ on July 16

Straight No Chaser is bringing its Summer: The '90s Part 2 Tour to State Theatre New Jersey on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. The nine-member a cappella group originated in 1996 at Indiana University in Bloomington and has gone on to sell three million albums, earn two gold records, and amass over 1 billion streams on Pandora.



Centenary

Centenary Stage Company presents Yacht Rock Gold Experience

(HACKETTSTOWN, NJ) -- Centenary Stage Company's 2025 Summerfest Series continues with a one-night-only concert event featuring Yacht Rock Gold Experience on Saturday, July 26, 2025 in the Sitnik Theatre of the Lackland Performing Arts Center at Centenary University. The band celebrates the soft rock and smooth sounds of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Showtime is 8:00pm.




 

Advertise with NJ Stage for $50-$100 per month,
click here for info