Flaco Jimenez Ay Te Dejo En San Antonio Y Mas! CD

Personnel: Leonardo "Flaco" Jimenez (accordion, vocals), Fred Odeja (vocals), Toby Torres, Hugo Gonzales, Eduardo Garcia (bajo sexto, vocals), Joey Lopez, Oscar Tellez (bajo sexto), Henry "Big Red" Ojeda, Ruben Valle, Francisco Salazar (bass), Issac Garcia, Juan "Eddie Hurricane" Bosquez (drums).
Recorded at Toby's Recording Studio, San Antonio, Texas on May 21-22, 1985; ZAZ Studio, San Antonio, Texas in 1979; and live at Pancho's Palace, Dilley, Texas on May 18, 1985. Originally released on Arhoolie (3021 and 3014). Includes liner notes by Chris Strachwitz.
Lyrics translated from the Spanish by Guillermo Hernandaz, Yolanda Zepeda and Jaime Nicolopulos.
Personnel: Flaco Jiménez (vocals, accordion); Eduardo García, Toby Torres (vocals, banjo, 6-string bass); Fred Ojeda (vocals); Oscar Tellez (banjo, 6-string bass); Joe López (banjo); Joey S. Lopez (6-string bass); Isaac Garcia, Juan Eddie Bosquez (drums).
Liner Note Author: Chris Strachwitz.
Recording information: Toby's Recording Studio, San Antonio, TX (05/1985-??/1979); Zaz Studio Complex, San Antonio, TX (05/1985-??/1979).
Photographer: Wayne Pope.
Translators: Guillermo Hernandez; Prof. James Nicolopulos; Yolanda Zepeda.
Following on from his father Santiago Jimenez' own successful run as a conjunto musician in San Antonio, Flaco Jimenez put together a conjunto of his own in the '50s, eventually becoming one of the most famous figures in Tex-Mex music (also known as Musica Nortena in Mexico). Based on the polkas and waltzes Mexican performers refashioned as rancheras, the Tex-Mex conjunto style features accordion, the 12-string bajo sexto guitar, bass, and drums. Flaco immediately staked his claim in the music with a distinctly imaginative and lively accordion style, finding the ideal backing from equally able Tejano musicians, including his father and his son David. For this excellent 1985 recording, Flaco teams up with noted bandleader and bajo player Toby Torres, bassist Henry "Big Red" Ojeda, and drummer Isaac Garcia. The group works through a variety of song forms, including rancheras, boleros, danzons, and polkas. Along with a fine rendition of the ubiquitous "El Barrilito" ("Beer Barrel Polka"), other highlights include a version of Jimenez Sr.'s "Ay Te Dejo en San Antonio," the sensuous danzon instrumental "Juarez," and the Toby Torres vocal feature "Un Viejo Amor." Throughout, Flaco's playing comes off as both astonishing and very enjoyable, especially on the live recording "Traigo un Recuerdo." With ten extra tracks on the CD, this Flaco Jimenez release makes for substantial and fine listening. ~ Stephen Cook