When he was a young accordion prodigy, Joel Guzman earned the nickname “El Pequeno Gigante” (“The Little Giant”). Years later, Joel is famous for combining traditional Mexican music with blues, rock, country, salsa, and other genres to create a unique style all his own. In 2004, he teamed with fellow Tejano accordion legends David Lee Garza and Sunny Sauceda to record Polkas, Gritos, y Acordeones, which won the Grammy for Best Tejano Album. Currently, he plays with his band Aztex and his wife, Cuban-born singer Sarah Fox.
After watching this incredible video of Joel jamming at a workshop in Texas, I can’t wait to see him and Aztex at the Cotati Accordion Festival later this month:
[Video found via Andrew Sullivan]
4 Comments:
J.G. is probably the best 3-row diatonic player in the country. He can play anything from traditional conjunto to jazz. Don’t miss him at Cotati.
by John Jennings on August 11th, 2006
Great video. Love it. He is a great accordion player. He is up there in the ranks with Esteban Jordan and Oscar Hernandez. Once again great video.
by Art on September 18th, 2006
I just came across this video of Joel’s performance at the Cotati Accordion Festival. (Not as high quality as the video above, but still fun to watch.)
by Chris on September 18th, 2006
There was this video i seen of Joel G. on youtube i think i just happen to come across i didnt think to memba it but he was jammin i believe in germany somewhere on the streets with two other guys and he was amazin i could almost imagine what everyones reaction could have been actually bein there watchin this AMAZIN ACORDEON Player…
by N.Jose on November 25th, 2008