Alejandro Brittes at the Redstone Room -- June 9.
Monday, June 9, 7 p.m.
The Redstone Room, 129 Main Street, Davenport IA
With the Boston Globe hailing the world musician as "the main exponent of Chamamé”, Argentine composer, accordionist, and researcher Alejandro Brittes headlines a special June 9 concert event at Davenport's Redstone Room. The event will boast an exploration of Brittes' Chamamé heritage: an ancestral rhythm born from the encounter between the ritualistic musicality and the worldview of the Original Peoples – The Guaranis – and the Baroque music taught in the Jesuit Missions in a cultural macro-region that encompasses Argentina, central and southern Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
As stated at En.AlejandroBrittes.com, the artist boasts "over 30 years dedicated to the dissemination of Chamamé, the traditional music of the Argentine littoral. Classically trained at the Juan Pedro Esnaola School of Music in Buenos Aires, and with nine albums released, he has built a solid international career, bringing his art to more than ten countries, including the United States, Italy, Portugal, Spain, France, Czech Republic, Colombia, Uruguay, and Paraguay. A pioneer in renewing the language of Chamamé, Alejandro was one of the first artists of the genre to dialogue with Argentine rock, recording accordion on tracks by the iconic band Los Piojos, including 'Todo Pasa' and 'Dowt Sey Towmoru. In 1996, he was awarded in three of Argentina’s most renowned music festivals: Cosquín National Festival – Best Instrumentalist (with original work); Chamamé Festival of Federal (Entre Ríos) – First place; and Ramallo Porá and Carlos Keen Awards – Revelation and Best Music Group (Diario La Nación).
"Committed to the preservation and history of Chamamé, he published the book The Origin of Chamamé in 2021, in collaboration with historian and cultural producer Magali De Rossi. The book became one of the best-selling titles on Amazon Brazil in the Arts category. He is also the author of the Gonzalez Accordion Method, also known as the Argentine Method — the first comprehensive technical manual dedicated to this button accordion system developed in Latin America, including video lessons for beginners and advanced players.
"In 2022, with the album (L)ESTE, Alejandro received the Açorianos Music Award in the category of Best Arrangement. His work was cited by Mark Brill (PhD – University of Texas) in the book Music of Latin America & the Caribbean as one of the three most important Chamamé accordionists of today. Alejandro is currently a voting member of the Latin Grammy Academy, contributing to the artistic direction of the Ibero-American music industry. He has toured and collaborated with major figures in instrumental and popular music such as Chango Spasiuk, Raúl Barboza, Renato Borghetti, Os Fagundes, Elton Saldanha, and Luiza Possi, in addition to performing as a soloist with the Mato Grosso do Sul Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra América do Sul, and the Versatellis Chamber Orchestra."
Alejandro Brittes and his ensemble headline their Redstone Room engagement on June 9, admission to the 7 p.m. concert is $15-18, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)326-1333 and visiting CommonChordQC.com.
