Sonny Axell

Official Biography (courtesy of Sonny Axell)

Sonny Axell is a pianist/singer born 1982 in St Etienne, France, to musician parents.

He showed great interest in music from a very young age,starting piano lessons aged five, then attending the National Conservatoire Primary School. It is indeed rare that a child younger that ten shows such interest in Jazz, Boogie, and has albums by Erroll Garner, Duke Ellington and even Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind & Fire in his bedroom!?

The Director of the Conservatoire advised Sonny's parents for him to also attend jazz lessons at the adjacent music school, creating a precedent as later on the two institutions would combine.

He took a few singing classes but finally decided to self teach, whilst accompanying himself on the piano.

The first proffessionel contracts soon followed and he would eventually meet other musicians with whom he would affirm his own personal style. Incontestably influenced by Rhythm and Blues and Motown, he appeared at many Jazz Clubs and private events during the next ten years, notably the opening act of the Casino Ruhl in Nice as a trio.

He met Sugarblue in 2007 and accompanied him on tours. Things then sped up and Sonny decide to start work on his very own project. Mainly influenced by Stevie Wonder and Quincy Jones, the album " READY " was released January 2009, with a showcase to present the songs taking place in Monaco, attaining success and critical acclaim.

Sonny presented his compositions to PIGSOUND studio in Los Angeles who agreed to support him on the project. Thus it was at the Sound studios in LA that the final recordings took place, an intense collaboration which allows the album to be finished in the latter months of 2010.