Flaco Jiménez

Few if any artists in conjunto and Tejano music have received the level of critical acclaim Flaco Jimenéz has enjoyed over the course of a career that's spanned six decades, and it's certain that no one has taken the accordion-fueled Tex-Mex sound to a larger audience than he has. Without compromising his musical vision, Jimenéz has introduced the traditional conjunto sound to mainstream pop and country listeners thanks to his collaborations with the Texas Tornados, Dwight Yoakam, and the Mavericks, and he is celebrated by adventurous rock fans through his work with Ry Cooder, Carlos Santana, Doug Sahm, and the Rolling Stones. Flaco Jimenéz was born in San Antonio, TX in 1939, and raised in a musical family; his grandfather Patricio Jimenéz was an accordion player who embraced the polkas and waltz tunes that are conjunto's stylistic precursors, and Flaco's father Santiago Jimenéz, Sr. was a pioneering Tex-Mex musician who cut one of the first conjunto records, "Dices Pescao" b/w "Dispensa el Arrempujon" in 1936. Flaco's first instrument was the bajo sexto, a Mexican variation on the 12-string guitar which he started to play at age seven, but after he became proficient enough to join his father on-stage, Flaco's interest turned to the accordion, and he developed a joyous, expressive style that was influenced by zydeco master Clifton Chenier as well as his father and his Tex-Mex peers. At 15, Jimenéz formed his first band, los Caporales, and the group soon won a sizable following in San Antonio, cutting records for a local label and earning a weekly spot on a local television variety show. By the early '60s, Jimenéz was already a Texas legend, playing clubs across the Lone Star state and regularly filling dance halls in San Antonio with music that fused the classic Tejano...