Omar Shariff (aka Omar the Magnificent, aka Dave Alexander) was a blues singer, songwriter, and self-taught piano player who played with Big Mama Thornton, Jimmy Witherspoon, Albert Collins, Buddy Guy, and many other blues greats before moving here from Oakland in the early ‘80s.
Born in Shreveport Louisiana in 1938, he and his mother moved to Oakland in 1957, where he began working with practically every blues musician on the West Coast, including numerous gigs at legendary venues like Eli’s Mile High Club in West Oakland and Minnie’s Can-Do Club in San Francisco’s Filmore District. He was also a semi-regular at the San Francisco Blues Festival, where Charles Brown once referred to him as the second-best blues piano player in the world (Charles being the first, of course.) He also served as the warm-up act at “The Last Waltz,” a concert staged by The Band’ at the Winterland Ballroom on Thanksgiving Day, 1976.
When Omar arrived here from Oakland he brought the West Coast blues vibe with him, exposing many local residents to a style of music they might otherwise have never experienced. He is best known here for efficiently running the Monday Night Blues Jam at Zapp’s Park and other Fresno venues for seven years, where he encouraged and schooled anyone who wanted to play. But Omar ran a tight ship and would not tolerate any disrespect towards the musicians or the music. Under his direction, The Monday Night Blues Jams became both a meeting place and training ground for local blues players, and he helped launch several careers. Omar also performed as a soloist and in small combos at smaller venues around Fresno, he and brought other renowned players including Charlie Musselwhite and Albert Collins to play with him in those intimate settings. He also served as the opening act for Bo Diddley, Bobby “Blue” Bland and Albert King when they came to town.
Omar released several albums during his career, and was nominated for a W.C Handy Blues award and a Living Blues Critics Award. He moved to Sacramento in 1992 and then back to Marshall Texas in 2010 where he passed away in 2012.
The Omar Shariff led Monday Night Blues Jams at Zapp’s Park are still talked about today.