Friends recall ‘gentle soul’ day after he’s killed at work

Counselor and former music executive was stabbed to death, allegedly by a student at L.A. Job Corps.

‘He was a very kind spirit, definitely not one of those cutthroat A&R music people you meet.’ — Angelique Miles, an independent music consultant in New York, who began her career as Dwayne Alexander’s assistant at Capitol/emi

later as vice president of artists and repertoire with Capitol/emi, friends said Thursday.

He spent time in Atlanta, many years in Los Angeles and brief stints in New York, friends said.

“He was a very kind spirit, definitely not one of those cutthroat A&R music people you meet,” said Angelique Miles, an independent music consultant in New York, who began her career as Alexander’s assistant at Capitol/emi. His work at the Job Corps “was more suited to his personality: giving back and helping people,” she said.

In 2001, he left the music business to study screenwriting full time at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles, according to friends and the website script2screenfest.tripod.com.

Alexander was drawn to “the discipline of writing; He was really engaged with telling stories through film,” said Karen Kennedy, a manager of jazz musicians in New York who met Alexander during their days together at A&M Records.

In 2007, he produced a play, “Full Moon Blues,” with blues singer Linda Hopkins and Young in the cast. He later wrote, directed and produced “Willa Mae, the Church Lady Vampire Slayer,” a low-budget film.

He was hired at Job Corps about a year ago. He monitored 35 students’ recreation and academic activities, according to a Job Corps official.

Kennedy wondered Thursday how Alexander’s Job Corps charges will react to his death.

“I hope what they take from this is that you have to live your life with love and honor and consideration of others,” she said, “because that’s how Dwayne lived his.”