The phenomenon: Alex Al, born in Detroit in 1951, had a very similar beginning with Michael and Jackson V. When he was 12 years old he was already playing in his brother’s Funk band, at that time he was playing in a cheap copy of a Fender Precision, he quickly became one of the best bass players in his hometown, and at the age of 17 he was already on tour with artist Carl Carlton, also appearing in openings for the bands The Gap Band and Cameo.
His career took off when he moved to Los Angeles, where he attended the Musicians Institute, he befriended some bass players like Rickey Minor and Nathan East, these friendships recommended him for other jobs and at this time Alex had his start in the LA music scene.
After the recommendations he began working with some artists live and in the studio, such as El Debarge, Bobby Brown, Diana Ross and the Spice Girls. After he started playing with Quincy Jones, his exposure got even bigger, resulting in other works with some legends of the music scene: Herbie Hancock, George Benson, Paul Simon, Sting, Smokey Robinson, Janet Jackson, Tupac Shakur, the Pussycat Dolls, Uncle Kracker, Jordin Sparks and many others.
Alex has played, written, produced and arranged numerous albums in nearly every genre of music, including Grammy-winning albums that have sold over 100 million copies worldwide.
We can see his work with legendary artists such as Stevie Wonder ,, Beyoncé, John Legend, Ariana Grande and Birdy. You can also hear Alex’s signature bass style in songs like Sting’s “After The Rain (Official Video Mix)”, Beyoncé’s “Dance For You”, Janet Jackson’s – Carly Simon’s “Son Of A Gun” and Missy Elliot , George Benson’s – “Keep Rollin”, “Sure Don’t Feel Like Love” by Paul Simon from the “Surprise Album”, Shakira “Can’.
For Alex; “Prince was the most prolific artist of our time, who was also an amazing bass player, and is my biggest musical influence.”
Alex Al is a bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, producer and arranger, best known for his work with pop icon Michael Jackson, serving as bassist and keyboardist for the King of Pop for a decade.
He shared the stage with Michael at the legendary 30th anniversary concert at Madison Square Garden, presenting the last historic performance of the legendary Jackson 5’s original line-up and appearing in Michael Jackson’s most successful musical documentary of all time “This Is It”. film that became the highest-grossing documentary/concert of all time, with revenues of $300 million worldwide.
Learn more about the Alex Al phenomenon in the video below:
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