Search - Oscar Aleman :: Swing Guitar Masterpieces 1938-1957

For Western Swingers Not about Django

Tony Thomas | SUNNY ISLES BEACH, FL USA | 12/20/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you like Western Swing, especially the three and four fiddle section music of the Spade Cooley Orchestra, then you are going to love the second volume of this wonderful collection. When he returned to Argentina, Aleman recorded a lot of music with three and four fiddle sections that sound a whole lot like Spade Cooley, except unlike Cooley, who forced his musicians to maintain a staid conservative "businessman's bounce" (Cooley's term not mine) Aleman and his groups really swing out. The music is great and it is clearly a direction beyond where Rheinhart went. We know that Stephen Graphelli followed Western Swing fiddlers especially Farr who ended up playing for Cooley's first band and later for Tex William's first band (composed of almost everyone in Cooley's orchestra except cooley when cooley fired them all.) There is almost no doubt listening here that there was some interchange between Aleman and his fiddlers and the Cooley sound.
Of course the first CD is excellent too. Despite the guitar shown on the Album, Aleman performed most of his prewar music on a national steel guitar.
Finally, this CD set should be in every home."

Fantastic Two Disc Set

political idiot | california | 02/18/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While Django was receiving well deserved accolades for his mastery of the guitar, a little known contemporary from Argentina, Oscar Aleman, was tearing it up in the Western Hemisphere. This is a wonderful two disc set spanning Oscar's premier years from 1938 - 1957. It is loaded with virtuoso treatments of both standards and originals. Oscar's incredibly fluid style is quite impressive --if not stunning. Some say he was under appreciated because his style is so Djangoesque. Hmmm, somehow I don't see that as a problem. There are too many selections to name as highlights, though I could live with a little less of the strings and clarinet (staples of the era) on some of the early numbers. None the less, this is awesome Jazz guitar with a latin flavor. An amazing player."

Ultimate Swing

Allan Suchinsky | Kensington, MD United States | 07/05/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"You look at the length of every piece on these discs and say that even if the pieces are good, there can't be much there. Than you listen and fall off your chair. Aleman not only could swing as hard if not harder than Django, he and his groups could fill two to three minute blocks with a variety of incredible and diverse gems. You may think you want longer cuts, but you quickly understand that you don't need them. This is wonderful stuff from a performer who has been widely overlooked."