Wow, I’ve missed a few tunes that are quite welcome in the Tejano sphere of things. Here are a few that ended up on my radar.
Joe Lopez y Grupo Mazz – Ando Que Me Lleva – The King of Tejano is back with a full-length album, Love From The Heart. The 12-track album offers up a mix of rancheras, cumbias, and ballads, boosted by the legacy sound that put Mazz at the top of the charts and touring schedules during the 90s hey-day. Although he’s put out a couple of tunes as singles, the one that really captured the legacy sound is Ando Que Me Lleva, with its powerful drumming and smooth accordion accompaniment. Give it a listen and listen to the whole album on YouTube before buying it.
Grupo Alamo – Confianza – One group that’s always captured my attention is Grupo Alamo from SATX. Led by accordionist Ernie Gonzalez and backed up by some amazing session players and fronted by DLG Alum Mark Ledesma (of LaDezz), they never fail at putting out some really good music. For good measure, the players include Grammy-winner Juan Trevino and current Mavericks squeezebox player Percy Cardona on Keyboards, which one really notices on this particular tune.
Santiago Jimenez, Jr. – Brincando Cercas – El Chief is back with a new album, Still Kickin’, and kickin’ and squeezin’ he is. Santiago offers up some classics played in his own way and backed up by Max Baca on Bajo Sexto and Noel Hernandez on the tololoche (upright bass). Brincando Cercas is a tune about a guy literally caught with his pants down when “en la movida.” It’s a funny tune and sounds great done in the traditional “singin’ ’round the fire” style.
Behind the Mic with Little Joe – My Friend AC Cruz has a new podcast up featuring the legendary King of the Brown Sound Little Joe Hernandez. After 60 years of recording and touring, Little Joe is still on the road. This podcast takes us through his career, his civil rights and labor advocacy, and even singing with Willie Nelson! Click here for the podcast.
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