Juan Lopez – El Rey De La Redova CD 407

Description

CD 407

Juan López – accordion and his conjunto.

“From the remote ranchitos and hamlets of south Texas comes this rhythmic, lilting, and joyful country dance music played on a button accordion.  Some of the tunes hark back to the turn of the century and before, often transposed to the accordion from orchestral arrangements, while others are recent compositions in the traditional style…Juan Lopez, who has remained a staunch musical traditionalist over the years, first became known for his polkas and many of the selections heard here were issued on the 1960s on an album simply called ‘Polkas’ (Ideal LP 163).” – from the liner notes by Chris Strachwitz

1.El Polvazo ‚ (polka) (2:40)
2.La Chicharro Nera ‚ (polka) (2:31)
3.Los Camaleones ‚ (chotis) (2:30)
4.La Mota ‚ (redova) (2:39)
5.La Pluma ‚ (polka) (2:46)
6.Tamaulipas ‚ (huapango) (2:44)
7.La Palanguana ‚ (polka) (2:29)
8.Así Son Ellas ‚ (redova) (2:28)
9.El Indio ‚ (huapango) (2:37)
10.Felicita ‚ (polka) (2:37)
11.La Flor ‚ (polka) (2:21)
12.A Medio Vuelo ‚ (redova) (2:15)
13.La Carreta ‚ (polka) (2:36)
14.El Tamaulipeco ‚ (huapango) (2:42)
15.Pasos Cortos ‚ (vals bajito) (2:19)
16.Don Willie ‚ (polka) (2:35)
17.El Barranquito ‚ (redova) (2:11)
18.La Curva ‚ (polka) (2:30)
19.El Perrón ‚ (redova) (2:27)
20.Noche Alegre ‚ (polka) (2:48)
21.Corrido De Las Rusias ‚ (corrido) (2:49)
22.La Pajarita ‚ (polka) (2:47)

REVIEWS

“This collection shines with gorgeous instrumentals. Unadorned accordion, bajo sexto and bass leave no place in the arrangements for a poor player to hide. While the title means `king of the redova,’ there are only four cuts of that dance style included among 22. The greatest number are – surprise! – polkas. The notes seem to indicate these recordings date from the ‘5Os, which agrees with the style of polka: nice and speedy – lots of bounce to these tunes, and plenty of melodic variety while working within the genre. `La Pluma’ has the changes that are favored by Quebecois players. In my head I hear Phillipe Bruneau and Juan López trading verses. That’s the kind of playing offered here, the kind that inspires dreams. You won’t often hear this type of complexity and perfection paired in such vibrant dance tunes.”

(Mary Armstrong — Sing Out!)

“`El Rey De La Redova’ spotlights the devastating accordion playing of Juan López, 1989 Conjunto Hall of Fame inductee. In the 1950swhen most of these 22 tracks were cut for Ideal recordsinstrumental polkas, redovas, huapangos, waltzes, and schottisches were especially popular. One listen to the vigorous bass/bajo sexto rhythms and Lopez’s vibrant, commanding melodies will leave little doubt why he kept devoted fans even when vocal recordings began to eclipse older styles in south Texas dance halls and cantinas. A must for serious fans of Tex-Mex accordion music.”

(Tom Smith — Record Roundup)