During the preparation for the Michael Jackson This Is It Tour tragedy struck, Michael was found dead and the whole tour got canceled. Good thing is that they captured every rehearsal on tape. At least we have a glimpse of how this extra funky band would have sounded live on tour.
The band members on this tour were Michael’s long time drummer Jonathan “Sugarfoot” Moffett, guitarists Tommy Organ, Orianthi Panagaris. Other members included Mo Pleasure, Michael Bearden, Darryl Phinnessee, Judith Hill, Dorian Holley, Ken Stacey, Bashiri Johnson, and of course the funky bass player himself Alex Al.
Michael’s music was always heavily bass oriented, so it is no surprise that Michael was specifically asking for Alex Al to play on this tour. They have worked together in the past on Michael’s 30th Anniversary Special TV show so he was already on his radar. Furthermore, he also played with Michael Bearden, who was hired as the musical director, so everything kind of worked out for Alex to be on this tour.
Alex also mentioned about Michael that, “Bass was the most important instrument to him. He’d make references to Paul McCartney’s melodic playing with the Beatles, James Jamerson being upfront and center with Motown or Stevie Wonder’s left hand.”