Alex Furnelle
contrebasse, composition

Alexandre Furnelle was born in the Congo where he lived until the age of 6. Drawn to music from a very early age, he began his musical career by playing electric bass in various blues and rock bands, among others “Nuits Câlines à la Villa Mon Rêve”, with which he recorded his first LP.

Aged twenty, he discovered jazz, which led him to pick up the double bass.
Starting off by being a self-taught musician, he later moved on to deepen his musical skills by a comprehensive training in different fields: academic studies of the double bass and classical harmony, classes in jazz harmony and double bass, singing classes, rhythm training.

Being a professional musician since 1979, he had the opportunity to work with musicians of all styles (jazz, blues, classical music, chanson française, music from Eastern Europe, kabyle music).
He played among others with pianist Alain Rochette, Pierre Van Dormael, Gino Latuca, Erwin Vann , the band Sables (ethno jazz), Daniel Stokart, various gypsy guitarists (notably Fapi Lafertin), …

He has taken a close interest in sound as raw matter, which prompted him to study primitive instruments.
Out of this approach emerged the band Phileas Fogg which he directed for several years as well as the mainstream show « Chasseurs de Sons » which he performs together with multi-instrumentalist Marie Sophie Talbot with whom he regularly works on different musical and theatrical projects.

He is also a member of the trio O’Tchalaï dedicated to the music of Eastern Europe.
As a musical educator, he made a reputation in teaching harmony, rhythm and improvisation.