Los Lobos to Be Subject of Feature-Length Documentary Film

The origin story of Los Lobos is getting the Hollywood treatment…

The Mexican-American four-time Grammy-winning rock band, which has helped bring Chicano music to the masses over the last 50 years, will be the subject of the feature-length documentary with the working title Los Lobos Native Sons, currently in production and slated for a 2025 release.

Los Lobos

The film features testimonials from George Lopez, Linda Ronstadt, Tom Waits, Dolores Huerta, Bonnie Raitt, Flaco Jimenez and Cheech Marin, among others.

Formed more than 50 years ago in East Los Angeles, the group is unique and versatile, able to play roots rock, Musica Mexicana, soul, folk and a galaxy of other styles.

The film is co-directed by veteran filmmaker, producer and editor Doug Blush and photographer/filmmaker Piero F. Giunti, and produced by Robert Corsini and Flavio Morales.

Blush says,  “Los Lobos, as much as any modern band, has expanded and re-defined what’s possible in American music, and in their phenomenal half-century and counting, they’ve created a global fan base that proves that the wolf is very, very alive.”

The group was founded by David Hidalgo (vocals, guitar), Louie Pérez (drums, vocals, guitar), Cesar Rosas (vocals, guitar) and Conrad Lozano (bass, vocals, guitarrón). They played revved-up versions of Mexican folk music in restaurants and at parties.

The band evolved in the 1980s as it tapped into LA’s burgeoning punk and college rock scenes, sharing bills with the Circle Jerks, Public Image Ltd., and the Blasters, whose saxophonist, Steve Berlin, would eventually leave that group to join Los Lobos in 1984.

A major turning point came in 1987 with the release of the Ritchie Valens biopic La Bamba. The quintet’s cover of Valens’ signature song topped the charts in the U.S. and the U.K. Rather than capitalize on that massive commercial success, Los Lobos instead chose to record “La Pistola y El Corazón,” a tribute to Tejano and Mariachi music that won the 1989 Grammy for Best Mexican-American Performance. The group has moved from strength to strength in the years since, receiving everything from a Hispanic Heritage Award to transforming their song “Kiko” into a surreal skit about Elmo on Sesame Street.

 

Natalia Lafourcade Receives International Folk Music Awards Nomination for Album of the Year

Natalia Lafourcade latest homage to Mexico is earning a special honor…

The 38-year-old Mexican pop-rock and folk singer/songwriter, a two-time Grammy winner and 13-time Latin Grammy winner, is among the honorees at this year’s International Folk Music Awards.

Natalia Lafourcade

Lafourcade is nominated for Album of the Year for her latest project, Un Canto por México, Vol. 2, which earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano).

Lafourcade’s first installment, Un Canto por México, Vol. 1, won the Grammy for Best Regional Mexican Music Album (including Tejano) and Latin Grammy for Album of the Year in 2021.

The recipients of the Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Awards, which are presented each year to honor the cultural impact of legendary folk music figures (in the categories of living, legacy, and business/academic) were also announced.

Accordionist Flaco Jiménez is honored in the living category.

The 83-year-old Mexican American accordionist, known for playing Norteño, Tex Mex, and Tejano music, has been a solo performer and session musician as well as a member of the Texas Tornados and Los Super Seven.

Throughout the course of his seven decade career, he has received numerous awards and honors, including Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Grammys, Americana Music Awards, Tejano Music Awards, and Billboard magazine.

He is featured in the film This Ain’t No Mouse Music, and Hohner has even released a Flaco Jiménez Signature series line of accordions. He has worked with Bob Dylan, Ry Cooder, The Rolling Stones, and recorded on the number one Billboard Country song “Streets of Bakersfield” by Dwight Yoakam and Buck Owens.

Meanwhile, Eugene Rodriguez will receive the Spirit of Folk award.

The acclaimed Mexican-American musician, educator and documentary producer founded Los Cenzontles, both as a band and as a non-profit music academy and community space for Latinx artists, youth, and families in the San Francisco Bay area.

He has produced over 30 recordings of Mexican roots music and cross-cultural projects and was nominated for a Grammy for the bilingual recording “Papa’s Dream”. He has produced three documentaries for the Cultures of Mexico in California series and conceived of the film project Linda and The Mockingbirds. He serves as a board member of the Arhoolie Foundation and has received numerous awards for his cultural and community service.

Amado Espinoza will also receive the Spirit of Folk award.

The Bolivian multi-instrumentalist, composer and instrument maker has called Kansas City home since 2014. Amado specializes in the Charango and Andean flutes, performs with multiple ensembles, and is the co-founder of Resonation Music and Arts, using educational programming to inspire curiosity and respect for world cultures through music, dance, and storytelling.

He’s a Charlotte Street Foundation Performing Arts Fellow, Lighton International Artist Exchange recipient, TedxKC presenter, and Adjunct Professor in the Graduate Student Theatre Department at UMKC.

The awards, produced by the Folk Alliance International, will be held during the opening evening of the Folk Alliance International’s annual conference on May 18 in Kansas City, Mo., and will also broadcast online.

Here’s the list of nominations:

Album of the Year:
They’re Calling Me Home (with Francesco Turrisi) by Rhiannon Giddens
Wary + Strange by Amythyst Kiah
Un Canto por México, Vol. 2 by Natalia Lafourcade
Outside Child by Allison Russell
The Fray by John Smith 

Song of the Year:
“On Solid Ground” by Reggie Harris
“Painted Blue” by Sarah Jarosz
“We Believe You” by Diana Jones
“Call Me A Fool” by Valerie June
“Changemakers” by Crys Matthews 

Artist of the Year:
The Longest Johns
Kalani Pe’a
Allison Russell
Arooj Aftab
John Francis Flynn

Raul Malo & The Mavericks to Receive Trailblazer Award at This Year’s Americana Honors & Awards

Raul Malo and The Mavericks are officially trailblazers

The 56-year-old Cuban American singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer and his fellow The Mavericks band mates will be honored with the Trailblazer Award, as part of the lifetime achievement awards at the upcoming 20th annual Americana Honors & Awards show on September 22 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.

The Mavericks

The Mavericks join a roster of honorees that includes Keb’ Mo’, the Fisk Jubilee SingersTrina Shoemaker and Carla Thomas.

Keb’ Mo’ will be honored with the Performance Award, the Fisk Jubilee Singers with the Legacy Award (which will be co-presented by the National Museum of African American Music), Shoemaker with the Producer-Engineer Honor and Thomas with the Inspiration Award.

The Honors & Awards ceremony serves as the highlight of the Americana Music Association‘s annual AMERICANAFEST, which will take place Sept. 22-25 in Nashville.

The Mavericks formed in Miami in 1989. In the 1990s they earned Top 20 hits on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart, including “O What a Thrill” (peaked at No. 18), “All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down” with Flaco Jimenez (No. 13) and “There Goes My Heart” (No. 20). In 2000, the group went on hiatus and lead singer Raul Malo released a series of solo albums. The group reunited in the 2010s and last year, they released their first all-Spanish language album.

Singing group the Fisk Jubilee Singers, of Fisk University, were inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2000 and were awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2008. The original Fisk Jubilee Singers formed in 1871. Their music broke racial barriers both in the United States and abroad, while helping the group raise money for the school.

Since Kevin Roosevelt Moore launched his career in the early 1990s (and was rechristened Keb’ Mo’ around 1994), he’s earned five Grammy honors. In 1994, he released his self-titled debut project, which contained “Come on in My Kitchen” and “Kindhearted Woman Blues,” both covers of songs from blues icon Robert Johnson. Keb’ Mo’ has since performed everywhere from Sessions at West 54th to the Crossroads Festival to the White House. His 2019 album, Oklahoma, earned the best Americana album honor at last year’s Grammy Awards.

Illinois native Shoemaker aspired to become a record producer, first working in Los Angeles and London before moving to New Orleans. Shoemaker was noticed by producer Daniel Lanois, who made her a tape op and then a full engineer. She worked on projects for Iggy Pop, Giant Sand and on Emmylou Harris‘ Wrecking Ball. Then she began working with Sheryl Crow on Crow’s self-titled album and subsequent The Globe Sessions album, which earned Shoemaker her first Grammy honors, including a trophy for her engineering. Shoemaker has recorded, produced and/or mixed for artists including Whiskeytown, Matthew Ryan, and Josh Ritter, as well as more recent work on The Secret Sisters‘ You Don’t Own Me Anymore and Tanya Tucker‘s While I’m Livin’. Shoemaker is also the first woman to win the Americana producer/engineer lifetime award.

Thomas made a string of recordings for Stax and Atlantic Records in the 1960s, incorporating soul, country and gospel. The daughter of DJ, singer and performer Rufus Thomas, she began singing as a child, joining WDIA‘s Teen Town Singers at age 10. She earned an early pop and R&B hit “Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes).” Thomas appeared on American Bandstand and recorded an album filled with duets with Otis Redding months before he died in 1967. In 1993, the Rhythm & Blues Foundation honored Thomas with its exclusive pioneer award. The inspiration award has only been granted once before, to fellow Stax/Atlantic recording artist Mavis Staples.

“We are beyond humbled to recognize this group of artists with our highest awards,” said Jed Hilly, executive director of the Americana Music Association. “All of these artists have transformed the way we listen and experience music and have helped to build a perennial foundation for Americana music to prosper as an art form today. Our community looks forward to welcoming them with open arms on our biggest night of the year in September.”

Flaco Jiménez’s “Partners” Album Among This Year’s National Recording Registry Selections

Flaco Jiménez is being added to the registry

One of the 82-year-old Mexican American singer, songwriter and accordionist’s most popular albums Partners, released by Warner Bros. Records in 1992, is one of this year’s National Recording Registry selections.

Flaco Jiménez

Jiménez, a Tejano music legend, appears on the new list of classic recordings joining the registry that Janet Jackson‘s 1989 album Rhythm Nation 1814, Kool & the Gang‘s buoyant single “Celebration“; Nas‘ game-changing debut album Illmatic and timeless children’s titles Free To Be… You And Me and “The Rainbow Connection.”

“Partners” by Jiménez, a champion of traditional conjunto music and Tex-Mex culture who is also known for innovation and collaboration with a variety of artists. This bilingual album features collaborations with Linda Ronstadt, Ry Cooder, Emmylou Harris and Los Lobos, among others.

The addition of 25 recordings this year brings to 575 the total number of titles in the registry, which selects recordings worthy of preservation based on their cultural, historical and/or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.

Nearly 900 titles were submitted for recognition this year.

“The National Recording Registry will preserve our history through these vibrant recordings of music and voices that have reflected our humanity and shaped our culture from the past 143 years,” Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said in a statement.

Here’s the complete list, in chronological order:
1. Edison’s “St. Louis tinfoil” recording (1878)
2. “Nikolina” — Hjalmar Peterson (1917 single)
3. “Smyrneikos Balos” — Marika Papagika (1928) (single)
4. “When the Saints Go Marching In” — Louis Armstrong & his Orchestra (1938) (single)
5. Christmas Eve Broadcast – Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill (December 24, 1941)
6. “The Guiding Light” — November 22, 1945
7. Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues — Odetta (1957) (album)
8. “Lord, Keep Me Day by Day” — Albertina Walker and the Caravans (1959) (single)
9. Roger Maris hits his 61st homerun (October 1, 1961)
10. Aida — Leontyne Price, et.al. (1962) (album)
11. “Once a Day” — Connie Smith (1964) (single)
12. Born Under a Bad Sign — Albert King (1967) (album)
13. Free to Be…You & Me — Marlo Thomas and Friends (1972) (album)
14. The Harder They Come — Jimmy Cliff (1972) (album)
15. “Lady Marmalade” — LaBelle (1974) (single)
16. Late for the Sky — Jackson Browne (1974) (album)
17. Bright Size Life — Pat Metheny (1976) (album)
18. “The Rainbow Connection” — Kermit the Frog (1979) (single)
19. “Celebration” — Kool & the Gang (1980) (single)
20. Richard Strauss: Four Last Songs — Jessye Norman (1983) (album)
21. Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 — Janet Jackson (1989) (album)
22. Partners — Flaco Jiménez (1992) (album)
23. “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”/”What A Wonderful World” — Israel
Kamakawiwo’ole (1993) (single)
24. Illmatic — Nas (1994) (album)
25. “This American Life: The Giant Pool of Money” (May 9, 2008)

Jimenez Inducted Into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame

Flaco Jimenez’s name will appear in the Austin City Limits history books…

The 76-year-old Mexican American Conjunto, Norteño and Tejano music accordionist and a member of the Tejano fusion group Texas Tornadoswho received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award earlier this year, has been inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame.

Flaco Jimenez

During the 2nd annual Austin City Limits Hall of Fame concert on Thursday, Jimenez was inducted with a class that included Loretta Lynn, Guy Clark, Asleep at the Wheel and the late Townes Van Zandt.

Jimenez’s short but sweet acceptance speech prefaced an upbeat six-song set earlier in the night with conjunto band Max Baca & Los TexManiacs featuring David Hidalgo of Los Lobos on guitar and vocals. Midway through, Dwight Yoakam came aboard to sing lead, with Jimenez’s colorful accordion accents propelling the extended cast on “Streets of Bakersfield” and Warren Zevon’s “Carmelita.”

The green room was jam-packed just moments earlier with friends, family and fellow musicians who just wanted to be close to Jimenez, who received the loudest reception of the night. He beamed recounting how Yoakam had mentioned his military service as an Army artilleryman during the Korean War.

“I was proud to serve my country,” Jimenez said.

Jimenez, a five-time Grammy winner, has enjoyed a successful career that has spanned more than six decades. In that time, he’s collaborated with artists like Bob Dylan, Ry Cooder, Doug Sahm and Carlos Santana.

Corea Leads the Pack of Latino Winners at the 2015 Grammy Awards

Chick Corea has added new trophies to his extensive Grammy collection…

The 73-year-old part-Spanish jazz and fusion musician earned two awards at Sunday’s Grammy Awards, raising his total Grammy count to 22.

Chick Corea

Corea, who came into the night at the most-nominated Latino artist of the year, won in both of the categories in which he was nominated.

He picked up the award in the Improvised Jazz Solo category for “Fingerprints.” He won for Jazz Instrumental Album for the Chick Corea Trio’s critically acclaimed Trilogy.

But Corea wasn’t the only Latino/a to come away with a coveted gramophone.

Kirstie Maldonado picked up her first-ever Grammy.

The half-Mexican American/part-Spanish artist and her fellow Pentatonix group mates – winners of NBC’s The Sing-Off in 2011 – won in the Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella category for their acclaimed 
”Daft Punk” medley.

Christina Aguilera, the Best New Artist winner at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2000, picked up the fifth Grammy of her career. The 34-year-old half-Ecuadorian American singer won in the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
for her collaboration with A Great Big World on the single “Say Something.”

Other winners include Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, Ruben Blades, Calle 13, Vicente Fernandez and Carlos Vives.

Meanwhile, Flaco Jiménez was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

The 73-year-old accordionist who brought Tex-Mex flavor to the music of Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Ry Cooder and others gained mainstream popularity as a member of the crossover bands The Texas Tornados and Los Super Seven. He’s a five-time Grammy Award winner. Distinguished accordion manufacturer Hohnor created the Corona II Flaco Jimenez Signature Model in his honor. He’s the only Latin artist to receive the career Grammy tribute this year.

Here’s a complete look at all the night’s Latino winners:

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
A Great Big World with Christina Aguilera, “Say Something”

Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella
Pentatonix – “Daft Punk”

Best Improved Jazz Solo
Chick Corea – “Fingerprints”

Best Jazz Instrumental Album
Chick Corea Trio – Trilogy

Best Latin Jazz Album
Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra – The Offense Of The Drum

Best Latin Pop Album
Ruben Blades, Tangos

Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano)
Vicente Fernández, Mano A Mano – Tangos A La Manera De Vicente Fernández

Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album
Calle 13, Multiviral

Best Tropical Latin Album
Carlos Vives, Más + Corazón Profundo

 

Jiménez to Receive Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award

Flaco Jiménez has earned his place in Grammy history…

The 75-year-old Mexican American musician, a five-time Grammy-winning accordionist, will receive the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy.

Flaco Jiménez

Jiménez, a member of the Texas Tornados and accordionist, has enjoyed a successful career that has spanned more than six decades. In that time, he’s collaborated with artists like Bob Dylan, Ry Cooder, Doug Sahm and Carlos Santana.

Jiménez has maintained a huge influence in the Tex-Mex genre by continuing to record and tour, as he upholds his status as the definitive Tex-Mex accordionist.

Other honorees include Beatles legend George Harrison, the Bee Gees, Buddy Guy, the Louvin Brothers, hard bop saxophonist Wayne Shorter and French composer Pierre Boulez.

The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards will be delivered on February 7 at an invitation-only ceremony.

A segment of the Grammys broadcast on February 8 will also be devoted to recipients of this award.