Overview
The music of contemporary Mexican American culture ranges in style from traditional Mexican styles such as norteño and mariachi, to hybrid forms that combine the polka/ranchera sound with country, rock and roll, and cumbia, to hip hop and rap styles. Often the term Tejano is used generally to indicate any of these styles that have developed in Texas. However, for our purposes, the term Tejano will be used more specifically to indicate a modern, expanded conjunto style (electrified bajo sexto, bass, accordion, drumset, synthesizer and additional instruments). Individual artists and bands from California, Arizona, and Texas have driven the innovation of new approaches to traditional music with a resultant diversity of material. The selected artists and genres in this chapter will include Little Joe y la Familia, Jimmy Gonzalez y Mazz, David Lee Garza y los Musicales, Patsy Torres, Linda Ronstadt, Los Lobos, and Selena.
Objectives
- Identify the instrumental ensembles and musical styles of La Onda Chicana, Mariachi, Tejano, Rock and Tejano/Cumbia aurally
- Recall the contributions and innovations of selected artists to Mexican American popular music
- Identify the following song/dance forms: polka, cumbia, son jarocho, son jalisciense
- Examine the cultural context that these ensembles, genres and forms originate from and understand them as part of an ongoing, bi-cultural musical expression
Jimmy Gonzalez y Mazz
Jimmy Gonzalez and Joe Lopez formed the group Mazz in the mid-1970s, and the group has, due to changing circumstances, altered its name over the years including Grupo Mazz and Jimmy Gonzalez y Mazz. From Brownsville, Texas, Gonzalez is credited with incorporating the synthesizer keyboard as a standard element of Tejano music style, as well as being an excellent arranger. His voice is distinctively clear and in the tenor range. The sound of Mazz is dominated by a synthesized sound, making it sometimes difficult to distinguish between live and synthesized elements in recordings.
The group won Best Tejano Album four times at the Latin Grammy Awards from 2001-2004.
The song "Sufri♫" (Hurt) was recorded in 1980 and features vocals by Jimmy, in a ballad style. The song "Retrato Quebrado ♫" (Portrayal of a Break Up) won the Best Song of the Year in 2009 at the Tejano Music Awards. Note the extensive use of synthesized and processed sounds as opposed to traditional acoustic sounds of the accordion and bajo sexto in a polka style.
David Lee Garza y los Musicales
Garza (accordionista) and his group generate a more acoustic sound featuring the accordion and vocalist, but use the synthesized keyboard palette as well. In "Me Vuelvo a Enamorar ♫" (I'm Going to Love Again) note the use of accordion, bajo sexto, bass, drum set, saxophone, and synthesizer keyboard in cumbia style.
"[Little Joe Hernandez] has been described as a "Latino Elvis.""
