Dave Alexander – From The Saddle To Symphony Hall
Upon learning Dave Alexander’s ancestry included the classical composer Franz Shubert, backstage at an AWA Awards show in Ft. Worth years ago we suggested he should finish the maestro’s famous “Unfinished Symphony” and do it in Western Swing. It looks like he’s inching closer to it!
Make no mistake, Dave Alexander is one of the greatest performers of Western Swing….ever!! His talent, skill and showmanship are nothing short of staggering. His decision to tour the genre to Classical audiences is tremendously exciting. The classic Western genre has been offered symphonically in the past by such greats as the Flying W Wranglers, R.W. Hampton, Michael Martin Murphey with Scott O’Malley’s Western Jubilee stable of artists and others. This may mark a first for Western Swing, and no one is more qualified to do it.
Some songs you’d expect are arranged in medleys (“Big Balls In Cowtown/Take Me Back To Tulsa,” “Deep In The Heart/Oklahoma Hills,” “Don’t Fence Me In/Hills Of Old Wyoming”) plus the swinging “When The Bloom Is On The Sage.” Three Cindy Walkers made the cut (“Fort Worth Texas,” “Oklahoma Waltz” & “You Don’t Know Me” written with Eddy Arnold). But check out the three Alexander originals (“Every Setting Sun,” “Hold You In My Heart” & “Western Boogie”). It all fairly crackles! It’s extraordinary! A don’t miss!! Very highly recommended!
– by Rick Huff
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Dave Alexander – From The Saddle To Symphony Hall