Leonardo Flaco Jimenez, who passed away at age 86, was a master of the Tex-Mex accordion and a pivotal figure in conjunto music. His career lasted over 70 years, during which he effectively carried the tradition of Texan music to an international audience. Jimenez's influences included his father and the polkas of German and Czech dance bands. He collaborated with major artists like Ry Cooder and Carlos Santana and won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, all while remaining rooted in his Tex-Mex musical traditions.
Throughout a career that spanned more than 70 years, Flaco Jimenez’s tradition-drenched sound came to define conjunto or Tejano music in South Texas.
His left hand flies across the buttons on his Hohner accordion as he sings of a trickster gringo who stole his girl away, capturing the dance floor's spirit.
Flaco never lost his roots in the rich musical traditions of Mexican Texas, having picked up the accordion from his father, a pioneer of conjunto.
Flaco collaborated with prominent artists like Ry Cooder and Carlos Santana, bridging the gap between traditional Tex-Mex music and wider musical genres.
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