Montgomery music scene mourns for 'AJ Maestro' Hebrew

The late Al Jahara "AJ Maestro" Hebrew, 30, was well known for being able to play many instruments, but the one it appears he was best at was the heartstrings of everyone he met.

"We were close. He was like a son to me. I loved that kid. Absolutely loved him," said Jeff Cummings, who had worked with AJ since around 2015 in the band King Bee. AJ was the drummer for the group, which made it to the 8th best blues band in the world in 2017 at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tenn.

According to Montgomery police, Hebrew died Tuesday, Dec. 12, from injuries after a car accident on Dec. 8 at 1:20 a.m. After an evening gig, the musician, singer and producer was a passenger in the vehicle that crashed near Hall Street on Madison Avenue. The driver survived with non-life threatening injuries.

AJ was a Montgomery native. By age 3, he had started playing drums. By the time he was 6, Hebrew could play piano. Hebrew, who graduated from Jefferson Davis High School and attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, would go on to learn how to play 16 instruments.

Hebrew was in middle school when he first met Terrence Baldwin of the band Souled Out Groove. Back then, Baldwin was doing a choir missionary workshop, and Hebrew was playing organ at the workshop.

“The next time I saw AJ, he had been to Berklee,” Baldwin said. “He came back, and he wasn’t that same kid on the organ. He was polished. I was like, I could do some work with that guy.”

Hebrew started subbing in on keyboards for Souled Out. “Next thing you know, he became our full-time keyboard player,” Baldwin said. “The thing that made AJ so special is that he could play keys, he could play drums, if you need a bass player he could play bass. He was never afraid to try new things, try different genres. He was just a top-notch musician all the way around. He made everybody better.”

Along with his work with other groups and accompanying many other artists, Hebrew had his own band, Al Jahara and The Good Vibez, that he formed in 2017. His debut EP was "One Heart's Journey" in 2018. Three years later, Hebrew released the single "Stay the Night." A new EP was reportedly to come sometime late this year.

"He supported so many artists as a full-time musician. He played with dozens of artists. It's going to be a huge void without him here," Cummings said. "The world just doesn't seem as bright without AJ in it."

After being apart for a few years during the pandemic, King Bee reunited during the Capitol Oyster Festival this year in September. That was the last time Cummings got to play with Hebrew.

"The last thing I told him was that I loved him," Cummings said. "That's the last words he told me. 'I love you too.' That was it, after the show. No one expected all this to happen."

A music family

"I think everybody's still in shock," said Cummings, who isn't the only one to think of Hebrew as family.

"He was like a little brother to me," said artist Roosevelt "YunRo" Williams of Montgomery.

Lisa Perkins — artist, producer and president of the Montgomery Area Musicians Association — has known Hebrew for years. Along with his talent, Perkins praised his ability to get along with everyone.

"His dad actually played in my band for a while as well before he passed away," Perkins said. "AJ, I performed with him a couple fo a couple of times. He did some stage plays here in Montgomery as well. I was in a stage play that he was the minister of music for."

Many others felt the same about Hebrew and took to social media to express the love and grief:

Michelle Browder, whose nickname for Hebrew was "My Lil Prince," wrote: "Fought illness and won. Fought grief and was winning. We have lost a treasure. Oh my God, Montgomery has lost a treasure."

Micah Jones wrote: "AJ was one of THE most talented and genuine people I will ever know. Been tight ever since guitar class back at Carver Elementary. It was crazy how fast he could learn how to play something whether it be a song or a different instrument, dude had IT! The gift of music."

Penelope Garcia wrote: "Bro, you will be missed tremendously! your persona, your talent, your musical intelligence, your infectious smile definitely made a mark on Montgomery and any stage you’ve graced. this is a pretty hard pill to swallow."

Nichole Nickson wrote: "I’ll miss hearing you say 'sisterrrrr' from the stage every time I’m there. I’ll miss how tight and long you hugged me every time we saw each other ... and that smile that lights a ROOM."

AJ had smiles and fearlessness

Cummings said Hebrew was happiest when he was playing music.

"He was always smiling when he was playing," Cummings said. "Anytime he was on the drum kit, it didn't matter where we were playing or how long the set, you could look back and he was smiling."

Others noticed Hebrew's grin, too.

"He always had a smile on his face, no matter what he was going through," Perkins said. "He was a very gentle and kind soul."

Along with smiles, Baldwin said kindness and being nice to people were Hebrew's thing — but so was his musical courage and imagination.

"He was fearless," Baldwin said. "He would never box himself in to just piano, just drums. He was always bringing out the bass, he was always singing, he was always writing. He was fearless, no boundaries. He was always reaching for more."

Montgomery Advertiser reporter Shannon Heupel covers things to do in the River Region. Contact him at sheupel@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Montgomery music scene mourns for 'AJ Maestro' Hebrew