Alger "Texas" Alexander

Born
September 12, 1900
in Jowett, TX 
Active Decades
19001020304050607080902000 
 
by Steve James
A primal, stirring blues voice, Alexander was well known in the Brazos River bottomlands when he started recording in 1927. From bluesmen like Lightnin' Hopkins and Lowell Fulson comes a verbal image of this big-voiced master of blues song craft standing on a wagon bed at a country fair or picnic. His vibrant tenor, one step away from a field holler, rang out over the revelry as he improvised verse after verse.



His early records for Okeh are notable not only for the personal originality of his songs, but for the musical motifs against which they are set. Unable to play himself, Alexander used a variety of accompanists. On disc these range from the brilliant guitar work of Little Hat Jones, Lonnie Johnson and Eddie Lang to the string band blues of The Mississipi Sheiks and the full on jazz of King Oliver's New Orleans Band.



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