THE SPACE
BETWEEN
THE NOTES.

Born in Baltimore, Al developed his musical foundation at Frederick Douglass High School before studying classical voice and opera at the Peabody Conservatory on scholarship. That training gave him more than technique: it taught him how breath, phrasing and emotional intention shape a performance.

When bass became his primary instrument, he carried the singer’s instinct with him. The result is a melodic approach to rhythm—playing that supports the song while quietly telling its own story.

By the late 1980s, New York had become Al’s working classroom. From 1988 to 1992, his artist biography places him inside Nile Rodgers Productions as a bassist and co-writer. He also wrote independently for the jingle house Sicurella & Associates and served as bassist and singer in the house band for VH-1’s New Visions, moving across soul, jazz and rock under Rodgers’ musical direction.

Those years sharpened the skill that would define his career: entering any musical environment, hearing what it truly needed and becoming part of its emotional architecture.

Al’s recorded legacy includes bass on eight of ten tracks on The Vaughan Brothers’ Grammy-winning, multi-platinum Family Style in 1990 and work on Ric Ocasek’s Fireball Zone the following year. Later credits connect him to releases by Jeune, N’Dea Davenport and Andy Park.

These sessions crossed blues, rock, soul, pop and worship music—evidence of a musician whose identity has never depended on a single genre.

Al relocated to Los Angeles in December 1991 and expanded his work through Civilization, serving as lead singer, co-writer and co-producer. His artist history also includes a self-titled 1992 project and the 2001 album Take the Pain Away.

His original music moved naturally toward film. “Take the Pain Away” appeared on music connected with the Academy Award-winning film Crash, while other soundtrack work reached projects including Silent Trigger and Sugar Valentine.

Artist-supplied career history spans international touring from 1983 to current, including an extended run as Avril Lavigne’s touring bassist and singer, as well as work with Kelly Clarkson, Lisa Marie Presley and a wide circle of artists.

The stages ranged from clubs to arenas and broadcast rooms—from Soul Train, Letterman, Good Morning America, and the Today show to international awards broadcasts, festivals and late-night television. Each demanded the same thing: presence, precision and the ability to make a band feel like one body.

Today, Al brings a lifetime of artistic and industry experience into production, consulting, artist development and mentorship. Through BerryJam, he helps musicians find the clearest version of their own voice rather than asking them to imitate someone else’s.

MiSoul Honey extends that philosophy into new original work—a still-evolving “sample platter of creative musings” shaped by curiosity, community and the conviction that music can bring everyday people with lofty dreams into the same room.