Don Alias


Charles "Don" Alias was an American jazz percussionist.
Alias was best known for playing congas and other hand drums. He was also a capable drum kit performer. He played drums on the song "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down" from trumpeter Miles Davis's album Bitches Brew, when neither Lenny White nor Jack DeJohnette were 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 best known for his associations with Miles Davis and saxophonist David Sanborn. He also performed and recorded with artists such as Weather Report, Joni Mitchell, Herbie Hancock, the Brecker Brothers, Jaco Pastorius, Pat Metheny, Nina Simone, and many others.

Early life

Alias was born in New York City on December 25, 1939. He studied piano and guitar as a boy but turned to percussion, learning from the rhythms he learned on New York's streets and the one-on-one lessons with the percussionist Mongo Santamaria. At 16 years old, he was enrolled as a conga player for the Eartha Kitt Dance Foundation, when he landed his first professional gig playing with Dizzy Gillespie at the Newport Jazz Festival.
He had a degree in biology, studying at Gannon College and the Carnegie Institute for Biochemistry in Boston. During his time in Boston, he played in jazz night clubs, where he met students from the Berklee College of Music, which aided his entry into the music industry.

Career

Touring with Stone Alliance

While at school in Boston, Alias met bassist Gene Perla, with whom he formed the jazz trio, Stone Alliance, in 1964. The group also included saxophonist Steve Grossman, mainly centering on jazz, Afro-Cuban, rock, and pop music. In 1976, the trio began a 15-day tour in Chile, launched through the US State Department Jazz Diplomacy program. The initial leg, with 10 locations in Chile, extended into a 6-month tour with stops in Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina.
The group totaled two South American tours, four European tours, and two Canada tours. The band recorded four studio albums between 1976 and 1980, with live albums from Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, Berlin, and Bremen. After a 13-year hiatus, the group returned as a power trio with guitarist Mitch Stein playing two notable shows in New York City.

Work with Miles Davis, David Sanborn and others

His work with Nina Simone caught the eye of Miles Davis, who recruited him to play trap-set drums on Bitches Brew. Alias played alongside Jack DeJohnette utilizing a "lean and loose" syncopation that channel inspiration from New Orleans parade tunes.
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. Sanborn remarked that Alias would consistently come to sessions offering specific improvements based on the previous day's work. Sanborn added that " immersed himself 100 percent in the music, and he gave his all to the music."
He was the drummer for Joni Mitchell's live album Shadows and Light, which 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 was 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.

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. As such, 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 drum kit. This change did not present a challenge; instead, Alias thrived and eventually became her musical director. His work was important to Simone's growing interest in percussive sounds, and he's credited with a live performance on her 1970 album Black Gold.

Death

Just before a planned tour with David Sanborn, Alias died at his home on March 28, 2006, at age 66.

Discography

As sideman

With Philip Bailey
  • Soul on Jazz
With Cheryl Bentyne
  • Talk of The Town
  • The Lights Still Burn
  • Moonlight Serenade
  • The Book of Love
With Carla Bley
With Blood, Sweat & Tears
  • More Than Ever
With Jonathan Butler
  • Heal Our Hand
  • Head to Head
With Uri Caine
  • Toys
With David Clayton-Thomas
  • Bloodlines
With Marc Cohn
  • Marc Cohn
With Miles Davis
  • Bitches Brew
  • On the Corner
  • Amandla
  • Miles Davis at Newport 1955-1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4
With Jack DeJohnette
  • Oneness
With Klaus Doldinger
With Eliane Elias
  • So Far So Close
With Joe Farrell
  • Penny Arcade
With Roberta Flack
  • Oasis
  • The Christmas Album
With Dan Fogelberg
  • The Innocent Age
With Michael Franks
  • Abandoned Garden
With Bill Frisell
  • Unspeakable
With Hal Galper
  • The Guerilla Band
With Kenny Garrett
  • Black Hope
With Don Grolnick Group
  • Medianoche
  • The Complete London Concert
With Herbie Hancock
  • The New Standard
With Ian Hunter
  • All American Alien Boy
With Elvin Jones
  • Merry-Go-Round
With Dave Liebman
  • Sweet Hands
With Joe Lovano
  • Tenor Legacy
With Pat Metheny Group
  • Imaginary Day
With Bob Mintzer
  • One Music
With Joni Mitchell
  • Don Juan's Reckless Daughter
  • Mingus
  • Shadows and Light
With Jane Monheit
With Pages
  • Future Street
With Jaco Pastorius
  • Jaco Pastorius
  • Word of Mouth
With Weather Report
  • Weather Report – uncredited
  • Black Market
With Lou Reed
  • Ecstasy
With Sanne Salomonsen
With Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin
  • Love Devotion Surrender
With Lalo Schifrin
  • Black Widow
With Marlena Shaw
With Nina Simone
  • To Love Somebody
With Jeremy Steig
  • Legwork
  • Wayfaring Stranger
  • Energy
  • Fusion
With Ira Sullivan
  • Ira Sullivan
With Steve Swallow
With James Taylor
With The Tony Williams Lifetime
  • ''Ego''