STEVE JORDAN

Published in DEIA, Sept. 16, 2010




IN my journey through the North American lands I have coincided with so many different types of people that I give faith of the North American country’s idiosyncrasy, so known but at the same time so unknown. Last year in October and thanks to my participation in the International Accordion’s Festival in San Antonio, Texas, I met one of those music’s myths. A Texan accordionist so-called Steve Jordan, born in Elsa in 1939 and that has been one of the greatest referent inside of the music called Tex-Mex. In 1718, San Antonio’s city was founded in Texas. With the arrival of European people to the north of Mexico and later with their expulsion to Texas after the Mexican revolution, they created their own musical style combining rhythms, instruments and their different cultures. Steve Jordan has been an authentic legend of the accordion learning to play it on his own and becoming the introducer of the polka in styles as in jazz, rock music, blues and pop. Long hair, an eye patch, beard and an indubitable personal attraction added to a true genius's innate qualities that I met those days in which I was recording a couple of new themes for my album HERRIA along with the Gilbert Velásquez, one of the greatest and famous producers of the moment. Steve left us the last August. Still I remember the autograph that he signed me in that little dark and melancholic show bar, in which you could breathe the intensive and unique atmosphere. Here, when we listen to Tex-Mex we always relate it to Mexico and it´s curious to know that in reality it picks up the different styles of Europe, United States and Mexico almost in equal shares. Things are seldom as they seem to appear, either in a musical style or like judging a person by his looks; eccentric, strange and different, in the case of Steve Jordan, that holds one of those unique and extraordinary examples that treasured in his fingers the secret of genius and talent.

Photograph by Gabe Hernandez


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