Don Alias

Don Alias
Charles “Don” Alias Playing alongside Miles Davis, Keith Jarret, Michael Henderson, Leon "Ndugu" Chancler, Gary Bartz, and, James Forman.
Background information
Birth name	Charles Alias
Born	(1939-12-25)December 25, 1939 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	March 28, 2006(2006-03-28) (aged 66) New York, New York, U.S.
Genres	Jazz jazz fusion Latin jazz
Occupation	Musician
Instrument	Percussion
Years active	1960s–2006
Website	Official website

Charles "Don" Alias (December 25, 1939 – March 28, 2006) was an American jazz percussionist.

Alias was best known for playing congas and other hand drums. He was, however, a capable drum kit performer: for example, Alias played drums on the song "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down" from trumpeter Miles Davis's album Bitches Brew (1969) when neither Lenny White nor Jack DeJohnette was able to play the marching band-inspired rhythm requested by Davis. He also played drums and percussion on the Joni Mitchell live album Shadows and Light.

Alias performed on hundreds of recordings and was perhaps best known for his associations with Miles Davis and saxophonist David Sanborn, though he also performed or recorded with Weather Report, singer Joni Mitchell, pianist Herbie Hancock, the Brecker Brothers, Jaco Pastorius, Pat Metheny, Nina Simone and many others. Alias was born in New York City and arrived in Boston in the early 1960s intending to study medicine, but after playing congas in a number of local bands, made an abrupt career switch.

Early Life

Alias was born in New York City on December 25th, 1939.

He studied piano and guitar as a boy but turned to percussion, using the rhythms he learned on New York's streets and one-on-one lessons with the great percussionist Mongo Santamaria as a foundation. At 16 years old, he landed a gig playing with Dizzy Gillespie at the Newport Jazz Festival. He was enrolled as a member of Eartha Kitt Dance Foundation, playing the congas, when Kitt brought him to this festival and his first professional jazz gig

He had a degree in biology, for which he studied at the Gannon College in Erie, Pa., and the Carnegie Institute for Biochemistry in Boston. He followed this degree at the insistence of his mother, who wanted him to have something to fall back on. This other option was never needed, as he was simply too occupied as a musician. During his time in Boston playing night jazz clubs, he met students from the Berklee School of Music, which led to his career in the music industry

Stone Alliance (Group)

While at school in Boston, Alias met bassist Gene Perla, with whom he formed the Jazz group Stone Alliance in 1964 . The group, with saxophonist  Steve Grossman centered on jazz, Afro-Cuban, rock, and pop music.

In 1976, the trio began a 15-day tour in Chile, through the U.S State Department Jazz Diplomacy program .  The initial leg with 10 locations in Chile extended into a 6-month tour with stops in Uruguay, Brasil, Paraguay, and Argentina.

The group totaled 2 South American tours, 4 European tours, and 2 in Canada. After a 13-year hiatus, the group returned as a power trio with guitarist Mitch Stein playing 2 notable shows in New York City. The band recorded four studio albums between 1976 and 1980, with live albums from Amsterdam, Buenos Ares, Belin, and Bremen.

Style and Influence

Alias credited his playing style to Cuban and Puerto Rican hand drummers, whose techniques he said he picked up from the streets of New York. From this background, he often played congas, bongos, and other hand drums, rather than a traditional drum kit.

Gene Perla was responsible for introducing Alias to singer-songwriter Nina Simone, for whom he switched gears and played a traditional full-set drumkit. This change didn’t present itself as a challenge; instead, Alias thrived and eventually became her musical director.

His work with Nina Simone caught the eye of Miles Davis, who recruited him to play trap-set drums on Bitches Brew. His impact as a percussionist wasn’t lost among the A-list group responsible for this album, as critics and journalists have recounted that “the heart of Bitches Brew is that driving rhythm section” and “is in many ways the revolutionary art the album is famed for.” Alias played alongside Jack DeJohnette and utilized a “lean and loose” syncopation, which drew from New Orleans parade tunes to form one of the most distinctive rhythms of this album.

Alias’ most prominent work was with saxophonist David Sanborn, for whom he worked as a stage and studio member for nearly 20 years. . During these sessions and beyond, he paid careful attention to detail and had a  dedication to the improvement of every member of the group. With Sanborn remarking that he would frequently come to sessions offering specific improvements on the previous day's work, a trait that he consistently exhibited in his time working with this group. Sanborn said that Alias “immersed himself 100 percent in the music, and he gave his all to the music.”

His work reached its widest audience as the drummer for Joni Mitchell’s live album Shadows and Light, which notably features his drum kit on the cover. For Mitchell's second live album, she recruited many well-known jazz artists, such as Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius, Lyle Mays, and Michael Brecker. Alias also served as the studio percussionist for Mitchell's early jazz-influenced albums. On Don Juan's Reckless Daughter, he played congas, claves, snare drums, and sandpaper blocks; he also provided some background vocals. Alias played congas on the Mingus album.

Death

After his long career as a sideman (and just before a planned tour with David Sanborn), Alias passed away at his home on March 28, 2006, at age 66. Alias is survived by his son, Charles Donald Alias Jr.; his daughter, Kimberlee Marisa Alias; and four grandchildren.

Discography

As sideman

With Philip Bailey

• Soul on Jazz (Heads Up International, 2002)

With Cheryl Bentyne

• Talk of The Town (Paddle Wheel, 2002)
• The Lights Still Burn (Paddle Wheel, 2003)
• Moonlight Serenade (King, 2003)
• The Book of Love (Telarc, 2006)

With Carla Bley

• Sextet (Watt, 1987)
• Fleur Carnivore (Watt, 1988)
• The Very Big Carla Bley Band (Watt, 1990)
• Looking for America (Watt, 2002)

With Blood, Sweat & Tears

• More Than Ever (Columbia, 1976)

With Jonathan Butler

• Heal Our Hand (Jive, 1990)
• Head to Head (Mercury, 1993)

With Uri Caine

• Toys (JMT, 1996)

With David Clayton-Thomas

• Bloodlines (DCT, 1999)

With Marc Cohn

• Marc Cohn (Atlantic, 1991)

With Miles Davis

• Bitches Brew (Columbia, 1970)
• On the Corner (Columbia, 1972)
• Amandla (Warner Bros., 1989)
• Miles Davis at Newport 1955-1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4 (Columbia Legacy, 2015)

With Jack DeJohnette

• Oneness (ECM, 1997)

With Klaus Doldinger

• Doldinger in New York – Street of Dreams (WEA, 1994)

With Eliane Elias

• So Far So Close (Blue Note, 1989)

With Joe Farrell

• Penny Arcade (CTI, 1973)

With Roberta Flack

• Oasis (Atlantic, 1988)
• The Christmas Album (Capitol, 1997)

With Dan Fogelberg

• The Innocent Age (Full Moon, 1981)

With Michael Franks

• Abandoned Garden (Warner Bros., 1995)

With Bill Frisell

• Unspeakable (Elektra Nonesuch, 2004)

With Hal Galper

• The Guerilla Band (Mainstream, 1971)

With Kenny Garrett

• Black Hope (Warner Bros, 1992)

With Don Grolnick Group

• Medianoche (Warner Bros., 1995)
• The Complete London Concert (Fuzzy Music, 2000)

With Herbie Hancock

• The New Standard (Verve, 1996)

With Ian Hunter

• All American Alien Boy (Columbia, 1976)

With Elvin Jones

• Merry-Go-Round (Blue Note, 1971)

With Dave Liebman

• Sweet Hands (Horizon, 1975)

With Joe Lovano

• Tenor Legacy (Blue Note, 1993)

With Pat Metheny Group

• Imaginary Day (Warner, 1997)

With Bob Mintzer

• One Music (DMP, 1991)

With Joni Mitchell

• Don Juan's Reckless Daughter (Asylum, 1977)
• Mingus (Asylum, 1979)
• Shadows and Light (Asylum, 1980)

With Jane Monheit

• In the Sun (N-Coded, 2002)

With Pages

• Future Street (Epic, 1979)

With Jaco Pastorius

• Jaco Pastorius (Epic, 1976)
• Word of Mouth (Warner Bros., 1981)

With Weather Report

• Weather Report (Columbia, 1971) – uncredited
• Black Market (Columbia, 1976)

With Lou Reed

• Ecstasy (Sire, 2000)

With Sanne Salomonsen

• In a New York Minute (Virgin, 1998)

With Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin

• Love Devotion Surrender (Columbia, 1973)

With Lalo Schifrin

• Black Widow (CTI, 1976)

With Marlena Shaw

• Love is in Flight (Verve, 1988)

With Nina Simone

• To Love Somebody (RCA, 1969)

With Jeremy Steig

• Legwork (Solid State, 1970)
• Wayfaring Stranger (Blue Note, 1971)
• Energy (Capitol, 1971)
• Fusion (Groove Merchant, 1972)

With Ira Sullivan

• Ira Sullivan (Horizon, 1976)

With Steve Swallow

• Carla (Xtra Watt, 1987)
• Swallow (Xtra Watt, 1991)

With James Taylor

• New Moon Shine (Columbia, 1991)

With The Tony Williams Lifetime

• Ego (Polydor, 1971)

External links

• Official Website Don Alias
• Don Alias's Interview
• Article in Drummerworld