Track Listing

1. Traiconera - Esteban Steve Jordan, Virgina Martinez
2. Chup�n - Esteban Steve Jordan
3. Pajarito Negro - Esteban Steve Jordan, Virgina Martinez
4. Falta Tu Amor - Esteban Steve Jordan, Virgina Martinez
5. Maldita Tu Suerte - Esteban Steve Jordan, Virgina Martinez
6. Siempre Hace Frio - Esteban Steve Jordan, Virgina Martinez
7. Hazme Caso - Esteban Steve Jordan, Virgina Martinez
8. Coronelas - Esteban Steve Jordan
9. Castigador - Esteban Steve Jordan, Virgina Martinez
10. Mujer Sin Alma - Esteban Steve Jordan
11. Coronelas - Esteban Steve Jordan
12. Estrellita del Norte - Esteban Steve Jordan
13. Midnight Blues - Esteban Steve Jordan
14. Jam�s Volver� - Esteban Steve Jordan
15. Rancho Grande Potpuri - Esteban Steve Jordan
16. Corrido de Jhonny el Pachuco - Esteban Steve Jordan
17. Pepita - Esteban Steve Jordan
18. Vuela la Paloma - Esteban Steve Jordan
19. Together Again - Esteban Steve Jordan
20. More Pretty Girls Than One - Esteban Steve Jordan

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42171 in Music
• Released on: 1993-12-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Amazon.com
Esteban "Steve" Jordan is often referred to as "the Jimi Hendrix of the accordion" for his use of multiple electronic effects, but his imagination comes out even more clearly in his choice of notes and his wild, weird arrangements and vocals. This set mixes his raw early recordings of the 1960s with a wonderful LP from the 1980s. The early tracks already show a unique mind at work, with spikily funky runs punctuating the largely traditional vocals of Jordan and his then-wife Virginia Martinez. The second half is odder, mixing traditional polkas with jazz-blues, cumbia, a Buck Owens cover, and the "Corrido de Jhonny el Pachuco," a hip, Chicano slang rewrite of a classic badman ballad. Both show a man who, without ever achieving stardom, remains probably the most innovative musician on the contemporary conjunto scene. --Elijah Wald

Customer Reviews

Or How About "The Ornette Coleman of the Accordian?"
Finding anything by this wacked Tejano/Arizonedout/Californi-an is a wonderment, so thanks to Arhoolie for assembling this collection and to Amazon for making it available somewhere other than that wild-and-wooley Mexican, er, apparel store in Roswell, New Mexico where I go for all my Steve Jordan tapes when my nerve is up. Like the person says above, half of this is unreleased, pretty common ranchero music done early on with wife number one. But even here there's that special sauce that separates Esteban from all the other box-squeezers from Buckwheat to Flaco. On the remaining cuts, the mature Jordan is fully in charge of the family band and, while diverse as scatter shot from a sawed-off, the music is ALL his own. For range, check out his "Midnight Sun" hallucination. Guy's a genius. If everything else you've got bores you, grab onto this and let it ride the REPEAT button a time or three. You'll be hooked. (If you already are, you know you're gonna buy this one NOW anyway, right?)

Classic Esteban
This CD has some of the best early tracks I have come across. Some of the best accordian licks of all time can be found on #12 "Estrellita del norte".

great gift item
This is a fantastic album. It's joyous, makes you want to get up and dance, fabulous musicianship--a mixture of whooping Tex-Mex, country and jazz snaking in and out. Run and get it! It took me years to find it and I first found it in Austin Texas in 1995. Now Amazon has it! It's a great gift item.