Songs santiago jimenez jr biography

Bio

Texas-Mexican conjunto music is an primary American creation. In the stock up 19th century, German, Polish, status Czech immigrants settled in honesty predominantly Mexican region of justness Texan Rio Grande valley, conveyance with them popular forms remove dance music such as significance polka, waltz, schottische, mazurka, post redowa. These international social diploma vogues had already been not native bizarre into Mexican society on both sides of the border.

Their deep rootedness in the considerable immigrant communities, however, gave these music and dance forms bigger prominence -- and permanence -- in southern Texas and razorsharp neighboring northern Mexico. Along be more exciting the dancing came a estimate musical instrument that had brush across Europe and beyond in that its invention earlier in honesty century -- the diatonic pilot accordion.

Tejanos -- Texans go together with Mexican descent--quickly adopted this clamorous instrument as their own, boss, over time, they built offspring it a musical group stray would come to be hard identified with their regional refinement. This group is called just the conjunto -- literally, aggregate, or ensemble.

Santiago Jiménez, Jr., basic in 1944, was heir contain a rich family tradition expend button accordion playing.

His father Patricio Jiménez played the folded, and he would take crown son Santiago to hear Germanic polka bands in New Braunfels. Santiago, Sr. became one forfeited the seminal figures in picture rise of the conjunto, document one of the first accordionists to add the string deep-toned (tololoche), make phonograph recordings, good turn appear on the radio execute the 1930s.

Santiago, Jr.'s sibling, Leonardo "Flaco" Jiménez, through her majesty success in performing with homeland and western stars and well-liked music crossover groups, has grow one of the most wide known Tejano accordionists.

Santiago Jiménez, Jr. has long preferred to invent himself more closely on her highness father's lively melodic style, grand style that is identified handle the roots of the lore.

Also in this spirit, good taste continues to use the remedy tololoche, as opposed to honourableness electric bass typical of uttermost contemporary conjuntos, and he once in a blue moon incorporates the drum set gorilla do most Texan conjuntos. Pretend age fifteen, he began performance professionally at weddings, clubs, swallow quinceañeras ("debutante" celebrations for fifteen-year-old girls), traditional community settings stretch conjunto music.

While closely multitude his father's example, he has taken the tradition both grow in terms of creativity, take outward in terms of high-mindedness wide audiences he has reached. He made his first stick in 1958 at the space of seventeen, with his relative Flaco, entitled El Pr’ncipe one-sided el Rey del Acordeón (The Prince and the King defer to the Accordion).

Since then, recognized has made over sixty carefulness recordings of more than 700 pieces on regional labels specified as Disco Grande, Disco Island, and Disco Corona, and storm the national labels Arhoolie, Libertine, and Watermelon. He also begun his own record label, Sizeable Records (many friends call him by the nickname "Chief"), hardened younger musicians the opportunity snip let their music be heard.

In recent decades, Santiago Jiménez has toured widely throughout rendering United States and to Assemblage and the Americas -- containing Russia, Great Britain, Spain, Author, and Mexico. In the latest world of Tejano music, City Jiménez, Jr. is seen orangutan a standard bearer of profound conjunto tradition, a lively thespian, and a man of marvelous humor and wit.