Guitarist Jerome Ali

Jerome Ali got his first guitar from his mother when he was eleven. His father, Jimmy Ali Sr., was a musician too, and he gave his son Wes Montgomery records to learn from. Apart from a few lessons with Earl Klugh, Jerome taught himself. He later taught guitar at M Studio in Detroit.

In 1977 he played a live Jimi Hendrix tribute on WDET-FM in Detroit, and that broadcast led him to George Clinton. Jerome wrote and produced “She’s Crazy,” a song for Hendrix that came out on Clinton’s P is the Funk series. He also played and recorded with Parlet, Parliament-Funkadelic’s sister group. Over the years he shared stages with Carlos Santana, Ray Charles, Natalie Cole and the Doobie Brothers, and he once played Aretha Franklin’s birthday party in Detroit.

After Detroit and Los Angeles came Las Vegas, where he stayed for 27 years. There he and his twin brother, bassist Jimmy Ali, formed The Brothers Ali. The jazz duo and trio played the big hotels and casinos on the Strip, the Las Vegas Convention Center, country clubs and corporate events. The American Black Music Awards named them best jazz group.

Now he lives in Humble, back near Houston, and mostly plays solo. His sets include smooth jazz, the standards people ask for, Latin jazz and R&B covers, often over backing tracks that fill out the sound. You’ll hear him at country clubs, restaurants, private parties and company events, and he has played the Harmony in the Air series at Bush Intercontinental Airport. When an event needs more, he can bring a duo or trio.