Alejandro (Al) Castro

Alejandro Castro is an electric bassist and guitarist whose musical curiosity spans continents and genres. Drawn especially to the music of the African diaspora, he has performed in rock, hip-hop, R&B, and Latin ensembles throughout New York City. Outside of SHADES, he holds the bass chair in Lamine World Music, an Afrofusion trio led by Senegalese percussionist and SUNY Purchase faculty member Lamine Thiam, blending West African traditional music with blues, funk, and jazz. He is also the bassist for Ayanna + the Remedy, a New York-based original music project.

Alejandro Castro, known to bandmates as Al, is an NYC electric bassist and guitarist whose playing is shaped by a genuine curiosity about where music comes from. With a focus on the African diaspora, his work crosses rock, hip-hop, R&B, Latin, and West African genres without treating any of them as separate worlds. That cross-genre fluency is exactly what makes him a natural fit in SHADES, a band built on the same philosophy. Beyond SHADES, Al plays 5-string bass in Lamine World Music, an Afrofusion trio co-led by Senegalese percussionist, dancer, and educator Lamine Thiam, a project centered on traditional West African music fused with blues, funk, and jazz, with the djembe as the lead instrument. The trio has performed at venues across NYC including Buunni Coffee in Inwood as recently as March 2026. He is also the bassist for Ayanna + the Remedy, a NYC-based band performing original music. Between these projects, Al brings a versatility and a grounded rhythmic sensibility to every room he plays in.

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