No one has done more to popularize conjunto than accordionist extraordinaire Flaco Jimenez. In a career spanning over forty years as soloist and super session man, Jimenez has not only kept the music alive in his home town of San Antonio but also brought it to audiences around the world. His grandfather, Patricio, helped introduce the Texas/German dance hall accordion to the Tejano community and father, Don Santiago, was one of the first to make conjunto recordings back in the 1930s. "El Flaco" (the skinny one) as he came to be called, inherited and expanded on this rich tradition, first as abajo sexto player for the Don and then as an accordionist with Los Caporales and later Los Caminantes in the 1950s. The latter featured a more contemporary conjunto sound and became one of the most popular groups in San Antonio. After a term in the service (Mingo Salvidar replaced him in Los Caminantes), Flaco returned to music and began making solo recordings for local labels and then Arhoolie. His innovative style was noticed by other American musicians and in the 1970s, he was invited to play on a number of classic albums including Doug Sahm and Band (1973), Ry Cooder's Chicken Skin Music (1976), and as a member of Peter Rowan's Free Mexican Air Force. Into the 1980s, Flaco was the accordion session player for a variety of artists from the Rolling Stones to Emmylou Harris. In addition, he continued to make one great solo album after another (including the 1994 Grammy winner Flaco Jimenez) and toured throughout the U.S. and Europe. In the 1990s, Jimenez became known primarily for his work with fellow San Antonians Doug Sahm and Augie Meyers plus Freddy Fender as the Texas Tornados. He also got a lot of exposure through a guest appearance on the video of the Maverick's "All You Ever Do is Bring Me Down." In 1995, Jimenez's recordings from the 1950s were made available by Arhoolie on an outstanding collection, Flaco's First. After a tour in Spain, in 1997, Flaco signed with BarbWire Records (subsidiary of EMI/Virgin) and in 1998 joined Los Super Seven, an all-star Tex-Mexican American band including David Hidalgo, Cesar Rosas, Ruben Ramos, Rick Trevino, Joe Ely, and Freddy Fender. His 1999, Said and Done, was a real change of pace with Tex-Mex making way for Spanish pop. As you will see in the next entry, Flaco's younger brother Santiago is also one of the great modern conjunto accordionists. --David Goodman, author of Modern Twang: An Alternative Country Music Guide and Directory