David Lee Garza, Joel Guzman and Sunny Sauceda

David Lee Garza, Joel Guzman and Sunny Sauceda

Polkas, Gritos y Acordeónes (Guzman Fox)

Every once in a while, an album appears that makes listeners hear old music in new ways. That's the case with this stunning collection of conjunto favorites, created in collaboration by three of the most accomplished Tejano musicians working today: David Lee Garza, Joel Guzman, and Sunny Sauceda. Included are six instrumental medleys and four rancheras, selected and performed in tribute to the accordion kings who originally made them great, like Narciso Martinez, Pedro Ayala, Paulino Bernal, and Esteban Jordan, to name a few. For Tejano and conjunto music fans, that warm "ah ha" moment of recognition occurs on track after track. What's surprising about this Grammy Award-winning album is the intoxicating alchemy Garza, Guzman, and Sauceda create, resulting in a joyous riot of music. Each accordionist has his own moment to riff and jam, weave and bob, covering one another's back on some tunes, taking center stage on others. Joining this historic collaboration are first-rate musicos Gilbert Velásquez (guitar), Chente Barrera (drums and vocals), Steve Roth (bass), and Sarah Fox (vocals), bringing the proverbial cherries to the top of scrumptious tres leches cake. Even nonconjunto fans will be sideswiped by Polkas, Gritos y Acordeónes, or as Juan Tejeda writes in the disc's liner notes, "Make you proud to be a Chicano from Tejas, even if you're not."