Oscar Aleman where have you been my whole life?

atracksler

I just discovered Oscar Aleman on Pandora in my Gypsy Jazz station... what a breath of fresh air! Something so light and refreshing about his playing...."you made me love you" is just amazing...

Anyone else a fan?

Jazzaferri

I really enjoy his playing. Verylyrical improviser

redblues

Love his 'Alexander's Ragtime Band' , i'll have to upload to youtube one of these days

Archtop Eddy

atracksler wrote:

Anyone else a fan?

Oh YEAAHHH!

klaatu

atracksler wrote:

Anyone else a fan?

YOU BETCHA!

Jazzaferri

Swing Guitar Masterpieces 2 disc set. About 48 songs 8)

atracksler

yeah, i think that is on my next "to-buy" list!

mikegnik

Yes! Pandora came through for me too. I heard his solo guitar version of Whisperin', which stopped me dead. It was like Django and Chet Atkins synthesized. To me recollection, Aleman has two tracks like this on the two cd set. Though there is overlap he covers a different collection of music than Django- Many Spanish language tunes, many unfamiliar. I am not wiiiild about his singing, but it isnt bad, per se, but verges on the ridiculous at times. Interesting, he is Indian and moved to Argentina. There is one track where his singing and in just one phrase he sounds like a classical Indian vocalist. His guitar has a distinctly different tone than Django.

+1 for Swing guitar masterpieces.

Cheers,
Mike

Jazzaferri

He usually played a National tricone which would sound a lot different.

jlander9

I am not wiiiild about his singing, but it isnt bad, per se, but verges on the ridiculous at times. Interesting, he is Indian and moved to Argentina. There is one track where his singing and in just one phrase he sounds like a classical Indian vocalist.

Aleman is not Indian. He is a Native Argentine. He is the son of a Toba Indian (indigenous) from El Chaco district in Argentina. Aleman was raised in a vaudeville family, the Moreira Sextet, and toured throughout Argentina, Brazil, and other Latin American countries.This influenced his singing style which is why his voice sounds so unique (and awesome!). Aleman not only played guitar but was an amazing dancer and singer. Also, unlike Django and other Gypsy Jazzers, he was a finger picker (crazy, right?) giving him a distinct sound . Check this clip out see it the whole way through and you'll see what I mean...

mikegnik

Thank you for the correction! I went from what my friend had read summed up from the liner notes but not having read them myself. I assumed he read it correctly. There I go, perpetuating false info!

I watched that same clip recently. Pretty wild! I wish he wore lighter color pants or the floor was a different color- his fanciful footwork is mostly lost in the lack of contrast!

Cheers,
Mike