That Old Black Magic - ASHLEY ALEXANDER BIG BAND

[AndrewMeronek]

Who knows anything about this recording and/or band? Ran across this trying to find a recording of this Mantooth chart. I wasn't sure if it had actually been done, and viola! Featuring (to my ears, I'm not sure) the featured solo part on a superbone?

[JohnL]

Ashley Alexander certainly regularly played a Superbone. It's been said that he was the player who most effectively exploited the instrument's valves+slide capability.

[Sniffynose]

Great post!

First thing that always comes to mind when I hear this song is this
Blue Devils 1988

Scroll to 2:21 minutes in

[JohnL]

To add more...

Ashley Alexander was on the faculty at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California (near Los Angeles) from 1975 until his death (at the age of 52) in 1988; before that, he was jazz studies director at the University of Northern Iowa.

As I recall, he was very active as a clinician (he was teaching at a summer camp in Canada when he died) and a lot of people passed through his programs at UNI and Mr. SAC. I'm sure there are people here on the forum who knew him personally.

[AndrewMeronek]

First thing that always comes to mind when I hear this song is this
Blue Devils 1988

Cool bootleg! I never did drum corps, too hard.