Oscar Alemán was one of the great overlooked guitarists of the swing era—a virtuoso whose music connected American swing, South American rhythms, and the hot jazz of 1930s Paris. A contemporary of Django Reinhardt and guitarist and bandleader for Josephine Baker, Alemán developed a distinctive style that remains largely unexplored by guitarists today.

The Oscar Alemán Play-Along Songbook Vol. I brings that music directly to the guitar, with detailed transcriptions, historical material, and play-along tracks for studying Alemán’s melodies, rhythm, and improvisational language.

The 2026 reprint features durable Wire-O lay-flat binding, designed to stay open on a music stand, and includes access to a complete digital companion with play-along tracks and chord charts.

The book includes:

• 13 detailed transcriptions from Alemán’s recorded repertoire, including Daphne, Dedos Duros, Diga Diga Doo, Hombre Mio, I Never Knew, Joseph! Joseph!, Melancolia, Russian Lullaby, Scartunas, Stardust, Sweet Georgia Brown, Twelfth Street Rag, and You Made Me Love You
• 10 transcriptions of Alemán’s improvised guitar solos
• 3 original Oscar Alemán compositions
• A biographical essay by Michael Dregni
• 20+ rare photographs
• Music presented in standard notation, guitar tablature, and guitar chord diagrams

Digital companion included with the book includes:

• 17 play-along audio tracks
• 13 chord charts formatted for easy use on the bandstand

The result is both a historical document and a practical working book—designed to be studied at home and taken directly to the bandstand.

Also included: "Just Like That"

As a bonus, your purchase includes a free digital download of Greg Ruby’s Just Like That—an album-length tribute to Oscar Alemán, bringing his music into a contemporary setting through new arrangements and performances.

Everything is included with your purchase: the physical lay-flat songbook, digital play-along companion, chord charts, and a full digital copy of Just Like That.

Oscar Alemán was one of the great overlooked guitarists of the swing era—a virtuoso whose music connected American swing, South American rhythms, and the hot jazz of 1930s Paris. A contemporary of Django Reinhardt and guitarist and bandleader for Josephine Baker, Alemán developed a distinctive style that remains largely unexplored by guitarists today.

The Oscar Alemán Play-Along Songbook Vol. I brings that music directly to the guitar, with detailed transcriptions, historical material, and play-along tracks for studying Alemán’s melodies, rhythm, and improvisational language.

The digital edition includes a high-quality PDF of the complete songbook, containing:

• 13 detailed transcriptions from Alemán’s recorded repertoire, including Daphne, Dedos Duros, Diga Diga Doo, Hombre Mio, I Never Knew, Joseph! Joseph!, Melancolia, Russian Lullaby, Scartunas, Stardust, Sweet Georgia Brown, Twelfth Street Rag, and You Made Me Love You
• 10 transcriptions of Alemán’s improvised guitar solos
• 3 original Oscar Alemán compositions
• A biographical essay by Michael Dregni
• 20+ rare photographs
• Music presented in standard notation, guitar tablature, and guitar chord diagrams
• 17 play-along audio tracks
• 13 chord charts formatted for easy use on the bandstand

Swing Jam

A collection of 50 essential tunes for jam sessions, rehearsals, and late-night playing, covering swing, Django, blues, standards, and French jazz. Each PDF includes the chords and the melody anbd is easy to read on the bandstand.

The collection includes:

• After You’ve Gone
• Ain’t Misbehavin’
• All of Me
• April Showers
• Avalon
• Bésame Mucho
• Blue Bossa
• Blue Drag
• Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me
• Bossa Dorado
• C Jam Blues
• Comes Love
• Coquette
• Daphne
• Dark Eyes
• Déjà Vu
• Dinah
• Douce Ambiance
• Exactly Like You
• Honeysuckle Rose
• I Can’t Give You Anything but Love
• I Got Rhythm
• I’ll See You in My Dreams
• I’m Confessin’
• I’ve Found a New Baby
• If I Had You
• Indian Summer
• Indiana
• J’Attendrai
• Jitterbug Waltz
• La Vie en Rose
• Oh, Lady Be Good
• Lester Leaps In
• Limehouse Blues
• Louisiana Fairytale
• Manoir de mes rêves
• Minor Swing
• Mission to Moscow
• Moonglow
• Noto Swing
• Nuages
• Russian Lullaby
• Si tu vois ma mère
• St. Louis Blues
• Sweet Georgia Brown
• Sweet Sue — Just You
• Topsy
• Whispering
• Who’s Sorry Now?
• Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams

On September 17 and 18, 2019, Greg Ruby brought together some of his favorite swing musicians to make a record of his original compositions alongside arrangements and compositions by 1930’s Swing guitar maestro, Oscar Alemán. In two days, the band recorded 14 songs – all live, without headphones or overdubs. With everyone in the same room doing what they love to do best - swingin' that music! The spirit of that moment is captured here.

Band: Greg Ruby - lead guitar Jonathan Doyle - tenor saxophone Evan Price - violin Jen Hodge - bass D'Vonne Lewis - drums Josh Roberts - rhythm guitar Casey MacGill - Guest Vocals on "Russian Lullaby"

Recorded at AVAST! studios Produced by Jake Sanders and Greg Ruby Engineered and mixed by Adam Burd Mastered by Resonant Mastering Photos by Jessica Keener Photography and Greg Ruby Album Artwork and design by John Hubbard

"Corner Café" is a love letter to old-time Euro jazz" - the Syncopated Times

Co-written by Greg Ruby and Steve Rice and inspired by mid-century Parisian swing, the album conjures shades of Django Reinhardt and Jo Privat while venturing into cinematic ambiance.

The project began causally in 2013 when Rice invited Ruby to play guitar on a recording session he was producing for film and television licensing. The two hit it off and before long began co-writing for these sessions. At first, the two exchanged half written tunes but as the creative process developed, their in-person writing sessions immersed them in lively musical debate and artistic gestalt. Inspired by the process, they decided to release the compositions as an album. While still in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, they chose the title track, “Corner Café,” evoking the collective sense of longing for the simple pleasures of life – conversation with a friend over a cup of coffee at a corner café.

Musicians:

Greg Ruby – guitars Steve Rice – accordion, piano Julian MacDonough – drums (1 – 11) Saul Cline – clarinet (1, 5, 8, 9, 11) Michael Glynn – bass (2, 3, 4, 6) Cary Black – bass (1, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13) Spencer Hoveskeland – bass (12) Raphael McGregor – lap steel (7) Brandon Shane Vance – violin (13)

Songs #1-11 written by: Greg Ruby and Stephen J Rice, published by: Greg Ruby Music (ASCAP) and Sunset Hill Music (ASCAP)

12. Palo Verde by Greg Ruby, Greg Ruby Music (ASCAP)

13. The Cobblestone Street by Stephen J Rice, Burnt Toast Music (ASCAP)

Produced by Greg Ruby and Steve Rice Recorded at Sophia Hat, Seattle WA with additional remote recording Engineered by Chris Spencer Mixed and edited by Steve Rice and Greg Ruby Mastered by Randy Sutin, Bump Jazz Productions Artwork by Richard Morhous Design by John Hubbard emks.fi

Spontaneity, conversation, and swingin’ good vibes” – The Mandolin Café

Weaving Hot Club jazz, mando-bop and old school swing, Don Stiernberg, Evan Price, Greg Ruby and Kevin Kehrberg create a unique tapestry of acoustic string music on “Rhythm Twist.”

With Greg from New York, Don from Chicago, Evan from San Francisco and Kevin from Asheville, the four have collaborated every summer while in residency as teaching staff at the Swannanoa Gathering. In 2020 and 2021, the Covid-19 pandemic prevented them from getting together so instead they created a remote record – “Rhythm Twist”. Each musician composed one song and arranged two others. Passing charts, tracks and ideas between them, they created something unique and collective. Guitarist Greg Ruby states, “not only did this project help us maintain a sense of sanity and ground us in creativity, it kept us in touch with each other while riding out a very strange period of human history."

Don Stiernberg – mandolin Evan Price – violin Greg Ruby – guitar Kevin Kehrberg - bass

“Waldron’s compositions have memorable melodies, unpredictable turns, and multiple strains. This is the equivalent of finding a folio of new Jelly Roll Morton or Tiny Parham songs.” – Michael Steinman, JAZZ LIVES

In 1924, Seattle jazz pioneer, Frank D. Waldron, self-published “Syncopated Classic” - a saxophone tutorial book which showcased his original compositions as etudes. 90 years later, Greg Ruby recorded these compositions for the first time after tracking down the lone extant copy of the book – a tattered photo-copy. Inspired by the brilliance of Waldron’s writing, Ruby assembled members of the vanguard of young musicians dedicated to contemporizing traditional jazz with his group the Rhythm Runners.

The Rhythm Runners: Greg Ruby – guitar & 6 string banjo Dennis Lichtman – clarinet & mandolin Gordon Au – trumpet Charlie Halloran – trombone Cassidy Holden – bass Julian MacDonough – drums Special Guest: Mike Marshall – mandolin on Valse Queen Ann & Valse Hawthorne

This book & music collection reaches back to the earliest days of jazz in Seattle and introduces a new generation to the music of Frank D. Waldron — as exciting and enjoyable today as in the Jackson Street “Golden Age”. – Dick Stein, Jazz host, KNKX 88.5 FM

One would need to be a specialist/archivist to properly annotate this 11-song LP, but suffice to say, put it on in the middle of a house party, and watch the smiles broaden, the drinks flow more liberally, and the inhibitions dissipate. – Fred Mills, Blurt Magazine

What is the appeal of a collection like this to contemporary jazz fans? For Seattle-based jazz fans, it’s an uncovered revelation; for Dixieland revivalists, it’s forgotten repertoire refreshed; for everyone else, a release like this is a reminder that early jazz history is not the single narrative so well documented on early recordings. Every city, no doubt, has their own version of a Frank Waldron. Does it change the arc of jazz history? No; Louis Armstrong is in no danger of having his position usurped. It does however, broaden the conversation, and illuminate the way jazz moved through American pop culture in the 1920s. In a way, Waldron’s music, given new life by Greg Ruby and The Rhythm Runners, was on the front line of the jazz revolution. He stands in for all the local musicians across the country who heard the great innovators as they passed through their city, absorbing those new sounds into their own styles. In doing so, they helped create a national audience for “hot jazz,” one that was hungry for new dance music for a new era. —Eric Hofbauer, Burning Ambulance

“Waldron’s compositions have memorable melodies, unpredictable turns, and multiple strains. This is the equivalent of finding a folio of new Jelly Roll Morton or Tiny Parham songs.” – Michael Steinman, JAZZ LIVES

In 1924, Seattle jazz pioneer, Frank D. Waldron, self-published “Syncopated Classic” - a saxophone tutorial book which showcased his original compositions as etudes. 90 years later, Greg Ruby recorded these compositions for the first time after tracking down the lone extant copy of the book – a tattered photo-copy. Inspired by the brilliance of Waldron’s writing, Ruby assembled members of the vanguard of young musicians dedicated to contemporizing traditional jazz with his group the Rhythm Runners.

The Rhythm Runners: Greg Ruby – guitar & 6 string banjo Dennis Lichtman – clarinet & mandolin Gordon Au – trumpet Charlie Halloran – trombone Cassidy Holden – bass Julian MacDonough – drums Special Guest: Mike Marshall – mandolin on Valse Queen Ann & Valse Hawthorne

This book & music collection reaches back to the earliest days of jazz in Seattle and introduces a new generation to the music of Frank D. Waldron — as exciting and enjoyable today as in the Jackson Street “Golden Age”. – Dick Stein, Jazz host, KNKX 88.5 FM

One would need to be a specialist/archivist to properly annotate this 11-song LP, but suffice to say, put it on in the middle of a house party, and watch the smiles broaden, the drinks flow more liberally, and the inhibitions dissipate. – Fred Mills, Blurt Magazine

What is the appeal of a collection like this to contemporary jazz fans? For Seattle-based jazz fans, it’s an uncovered revelation; for Dixieland revivalists, it’s forgotten repertoire refreshed; for everyone else, a release like this is a reminder that early jazz history is not the single narrative so well documented on early recordings. Every city, no doubt, has their own version of a Frank Waldron. Does it change the arc of jazz history? No; Louis Armstrong is in no danger of having his position usurped. It does however, broaden the conversation, and illuminate the way jazz moved through American pop culture in the 1920s. In a way, Waldron’s music, given new life by Greg Ruby and The Rhythm Runners, was on the front line of the jazz revolution. He stands in for all the local musicians across the country who heard the great innovators as they passed through their city, absorbing those new sounds into their own styles. In doing so, they helped create a national audience for “hot jazz,” one that was hungry for new dance music for a new era.

—Eric Hofbauer, Burning Ambulance