Alec Milstein Biography

Alec Milstein’s first break in the music business came in 1983, when Chaka Khan chose a song he co-wrote for one of her albums, I Feel for You. At the time, Milstein was based in Boston, where he was studying music. When word hit him that his song would be included on the recording, he headed to New York. There he joined in on the project with producer Arif Mardin. Milstein settled on the west coast the following year. In Los Angeles, he joined forces with keyboardist Jeff Lorber in a band. The group performed throughout Japan and the U.S., and Lorber and Milstein also proceeded to enter the recording studio. Their collaboration extended into the fields of arranging, songwriting, and producing for such artists as Manhattan Transfer, Juan Gabriel, and Michael Franks, among others. Milstein went on to work with a few high-powered divas. In 1991, he worked as Bette Midler’s bassist for a Christmas project. Three years later, when Diana Ross hit stages throughout South America and Europe, Milstein was there for the tour that marked a 30th anniversary for the former Supreme. When the tour wound down, Milstein spent time with his mother’s family in Uruguay and Argentina, where the musical influences made an immediate and powerful impression. Those Latin flavors made an appearance on his Dancing in the Rain album.