Accordion grasp Flaco Jimenez has died at 86 : NPR

The grasp of the Tex-Mex accordion Leonardo “Flaco” Jimenez, whose tradition-drenched sound got here to outline conjunto or Tejano music of South Texas, has died. Throughout a profession that spanned greater than 70 years, he carried that sound to a world viewers by way of his work with megastars throughout genres. He was 86 years outdated.

An announcement posted by his household on Jimenez’s official Facebook page didn’t present a reason for demise.

“It is with great sadness that we share tonight the loss of our father, Flaco Jimenez,” the assertion reads. “He was surrounded by his loved ones and will be missed immensely. Thank you to all of his fans and friends — those who cherished his music. And a big thank you for all of the memories. His legacy will live on through his music and all of his fans. The family requests privacy during this time of sadness and grievance.”

There is a scene within the legendary 1976 documentary, Chulas Fronteras, the place Flaco is enjoying at a dancehall in South Texas. He’s carrying a elaborate cowboy shirt. He’s dripping sweat. His gold enamel are flashing. He grins ecstatically whereas Mexican-American {couples} swirl throughout the dance ground. The fingers on proper hand fly throughout his Hohner button accordion as he sings of the trickster gringo who stole his woman away.

At this second within the mid-’70s, Flaco was largely unknown exterior of Spanish-speaking Texas, nonetheless undiscovered by the anglo music world. He would go on to collaborate with Ry Cooder, Dr. John, the Texas Tornados and Carlos Santana, and win a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

But the important Flaco — his nickname means skinny — by no means misplaced his roots within the wealthy musical traditions of Mexican Texas.

He picked up the accordion from his father, Santiago Jimenez Sr., one of many pioneers of conjunto. Don Santiago was influenced by the exuberant polkas performed by German and Czech oom-pah dance bands in South and Central Texas.

“He (my dad) liked it that much that he got hold of a one-row accordion somehow and started learning how to copy the German polkas,” Flaco instructed NPR in 2003. “Then he started playing around the neighborhood where he lived, just local house dances.”

Flaco’s brother, Santiago Jr., is also an accordion virtuoso who discovered from their father. His appreciable expertise had been overshadowed by his celebrity brother. But Flaco mentioned he and his brother acquired no formal instruction. In 2014, Flaco instructed NPR’s Scott Simon that he taught himself with out his father’s permission.

“I wanted to grab the accordion because dad is still at work. He came home early. All of a sudden he just opens the door and I said, ‘Oh man, I’m going to get it,’ ” Flaco recalled. But as a substitute of being mad, his father was happy. “The first thing he did, he went straight to me, he gave me a big, big hug and then started crying. See, he was so proud of my self-taught playing.”

Flaco Jimenez turned the A-list Tex-Mex accordionist for any artist who wished that west-side San Antonio baile really feel of their music. From the late ’80s by way of the ’90s, he was popping up all over the place, recording with artists as different as Bob Dylan, Dwight Yoakum, and the Rolling Stones.

“Flaco Jimenez brought that Tex-Mex, Mexican-American feel to the blues, to rock, to country,” mentioned Josh Baca, one other San Antonio accordionist and protégé of Flaco’s, who performs with Los Texmaniacs.

During his lengthy life, Flaco influenced a technology of gifted younger accordion gamers with the music that he all the time described as alegre, pleased. “When you would turn on the radio, you know, oh man, that’s Flaco!” Baca mentioned, “You know it’s him playing the accordion. Flaco has always stayed true to his sound and to what he plays.”

He additionally stayed true to his hometown of San Antonio, the undisputed conjunto capital.

“In San Antonio, he is beloved and he was the greatest ambassador of conjunto music worldwide,” mentioned Hector Saldaña, Texas music curator on the Wittliff Collections at Texas State University. “Just recently I was talking with some visitors from Germany and they were asking questions about Flaco Jimenez.”

Saldana has written that Flaco Jimenez was to San Antonio what Louis Armstrong was to New Orleans.