In 1983 after leaving the army, Slater attended the National Centre for Orchestral Studies, after which he joined the jazz orchestral collective Loose Tubes. Over the next few years he was the bass and tenor trombonist of choice for the likes of George Russell, Carla Bley, Andrew Poppy, El Sonido de Londres, Billy Jenkins, Django Bates and Andy Sheppard.

Ashley Slater (born 1961) is a British trombone player and best known for his narration on the television series Boo! as well as his work with Norman Cook (a.k.a. Fatboy Slim) in the band Freak Power.