ALEJANDRO BRITTES
Alejandro Brittes is an Argentine accordionist, composer, performer, and researcher with 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.
Throughout his trajectory, he has performed at prestigious institutions and festivals such as:
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Library of Congress (Washington, DC – USA)
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Cotati Accordion Festival (California – USA)
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San Jose Jazz Festival (California – USA)
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Nixon Library (Yorba Linda – USA)
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Peklo Plzeň Festival (Czech Republic)
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SESC International Music Festival (Pelotas – Brazil)
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Memorial da América Latina (São Paulo – Brazil)
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Itinerari Folk Festival (Trento – Italy)
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Theatro São Pedro (Porto Alegre – Brazil)
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:
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Cosquín National Festival – Best Instrumentalist (with original work)
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Chamamé Festival of Federal (Entre Ríos) – First place
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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.
His research has led him to present lectures and conferences on Chamamé and South American culture at institutions such as:
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Georgetown University (Washington, DC – USA)
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George Mason University (USA)
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University of Texas (USA)
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Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel)
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Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS)
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Dom Bosco Catholic University
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ENABET – Brazilian National Meeting of Ethnomusicology, alongside scholars like Deyse Luci Montardo
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 and 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.
THE CONCERT
Alejandro navigates with his accordion, playing with the temporal universe of his music. He utilizes gravity to awaken the sensation that the music can touch your skin. A unique perception that the music fluctuates, and in listening to it, you enter into a space in which anything can happen around you without you even perceiving it.
Alejandro´s concerts establish a connection with the earth, with the origins of the music of his home region and with the universe, in primordial verticality. His trademark is to employ his accordion as if it were a bandoneón, in conversation between the left and right hands, achieving that the instrument be utilized in its highest performance.
The basses of the left hand are masterfully explored, because according to Alejandro, the low basses connect us with the earth, and the right hand button keyboard, beyond providing melody to the music, elevates us to the Universe.
His albums became another personal trademark, because neither one is similar to another, and despite being composed of music of the Argentina Littoral region, they are unique, and in this way his musicality and his compositions express an uncommon diverse musical intellect.
SHOWS