Dave Alexander (blues musician)

Dave Alexander (September 2007)

Dave Alexander , also known by the name of Omar Sharif and Omar Hakim Khayam (* 10. March 1938 in Shreveport , Louisiana , † 8. January 2012 in Marshall , Texas ) was an American blues - a pianist and singer . He is attributed to the West Coast Blues .

Life

Born in Louisiana, Alexander grew up in Marshall , Texas . His parents encouraged him to play the piano. In 1955, Alexander joined the Navy. In 1957 he moved to Oakland , California and began making music in the San Francisco Bay Area blues scene . Over time, he has performed with such well-known names as Big Mama Thornton , Jimmy Witherspoon , Muddy Waters , Buddy Guy and Albert Collins .

In 1968 Alexander made his first own recordings, which appeared on the Oakland Blues sampler . In the early 1970s he released a few albums under his birth name. After adopting the stage name Omar Shariff, it was almost two decades before a new album was released.

In 1970 Alexander played at the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival , since 1973 often at the San Francisco Blues Festival and also toured Europe.

In 1993 Alexander was nominated for a Handy Award . He wrote several articles for Living Blues magazine .

Discography (selection)

• The Rattler (1972)
• The Dirt on the Ground (1973)
• Baddass (1996)
• Omar the Magnificent (1997)
• Anatomy of a Woman (1998)
• Black Widow Spider (2000)

Web links

• Biography at Allmusic Guide (engl.)
• Piano Poet Unbound: Omar Shariff (article on Newsreview.com)
• Dave Alexander at Discogs (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Legendary ArkLaTex musician found dead Sunday ( Memento of the original from January 9, 2012 on WebCite ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.