- Dave Alexander (blues musician)
-
"Omar Shariff" redirects here. For the Egyptian actor, see Omar Sharif. For the cricketer, see Omar Sharif (cricketer).
Dave Alexander 
Dave Alexander performing at the 2007 San Francisco Blues Festival. Photo by Mike SheaBackground information Born March 10, 1938 Origin Shreveport, Louisiana, United States Genres Texas blues,[1] jazz Occupations Singer, pianist Instruments Piano Years active 1960s—present Labels Arhoolie, Have Mercy Records Website Omar Shariff and Friends Dave Alexander aka Omar Sharriff, Omar Hakim Khayam (born March 10, 1938, Shreveport, Louisiana, United States)[2] is an American Texas blues singer, and pianist.[1]
Contents
Biography
Born in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1938, Alexander grew up in Marshall, Texas. His father was a pianist and his mother encouraged him to play in the church. Alexander joined the United States Navy in 1955, moved to Oakland, California in 1957, and began a long history of working with various San Francisco Bay Area musicians. A self-taught pianist, he played with Big Mama Thornton, Jimmy Witherspoon, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, and Albert Collins. Later in 1968, he recorded his first songs for the World Pacific label release called Oakland Blues, a compilation album of artists from that city. He also performed at the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival in 1970, and has played at the San Francisco Blues Festival, many times since 1973. He was also the warm up act at the Last Waltz at Winterland, Thanksgiving, 1974. He has also performed in Europe.
Alexander recorded a pair of albums The Rattler (1972) and The Dirt on the Ground (1973), for the Arhoolie label under his given name Dave Alexander.[3] Songs include "The Hoodoo Man (The Voodoo Woman & The Witch Doctor)", "St. James Infirmary", "Blue Tumbleweed", "Sundown", "Sufferin' With The Lowdown Blues", "Strange Woman", "Cold Feelin", "Jimmy, Is That You?", "So You Wanna Be A Man" and "The Dirt On The Ground".[4]
In 1976, he began to perform as Omar the Magnificent having changed his name to Omar Khayam.[5]
He was nominated for a W.C. Handy Award in 1993.[6]
In 1996 small blues label Have Mercy released Baddass, and followed it up with the hit Black Widow Spider in 2000.
In recent years Alexander has been living and performing mostly in the Sacramento area, where he has recorded on Have Mercy Records. Alexander is an articulate writer and advocate for the blues and African American music.[2] He has written several articles for the Living Blues magazine.[7]
On Martin Luther King Day 2011, NPR Radio All Things Considered broadcast a segment about Marshall, Texas being the birthplace of the boogie-woogie style of piano. The broadcast described how Dr. John Tennison, a San Antonio-based boogie-woogie musicologist, had shared his knowledge of the history of boogie-woogie with the citizens of Marshall, and how Tennison had located Alexander in Sacramento, California. Alexander performed in Marshall during December, 2010, to great acclaim.[8] As of February, 2011, Alexander relocated to Marshall, Texas where he now resides.
Discography
Year Title Genre Label Recorded Name 1972 The Rattler Blues Arhoolie Dave Alexander 1972 The Raven Blues, Jazz Arhoolie Omar Shariff; CD 1993 1973 The Dirt on the Ground Blues Arhoolie Dave Alexander 1996 Baddass Blues Have Mercy Omar Shariff 1997 Omar the Magnificent Blues Arhoolie Omar Shariff 1998 Anatomy of a Woman Blues Have Mercy Omar Shariff 2000 Black Widow Spider Blues Have Mercy Omar Shariff References
- ^ a b Du Noyer, Paul (2003). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music (1st ed.). Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing. p. 181. ISBN 1-904041-96-5.
- ^ a b Allmusic biography for Dave Alexander
- ^ Vladimir, Bogdanov. All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues, Backbeat Books, page 502, (2003) - ISBN 0-87930-736-6
- ^ The Dirt On The Ground (Dave Alexander)
- ^ Komara, Edward (ed.) (2006), Encyclopedia of the Blues, Routledge
- ^ Allmusic biography for Omar Sharriff
- ^ Living Blues magazine
- ^ www.npr.org/2011/01/.../boogie-woogie-born-in-the-backwoods-of-america
External links
Categories:- American blues singers
- American blues pianists
- 1938 births
- Living people
- West Coast blues musicians
- People from Shreveport, Louisiana
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
