I suppose my affinity for music in the conjunto vein comes from my background. I, your humble Austin Music Minute maven, grew up in El Paso, so the sound is familiar to me. From that stems the pleasure of discovering bands such as Susan Torres y Conjunto Clemencia, and some of the unique ways they approach that traditional sound.
If you check out their roster, they’ve played and recorded with the best of the best: The one and only Flaco Jiménez, Conjunto Los Pinkys (you may have been lucky enough to see these gentlemen at the White Horse), Cerronato, and Los Hermanos Cruz, to name a few. The band features the talents of accordionist Susan Torres and vocalist and percussionist Clemencia Zapata, along with Bradley Jaye Williams accompanying on bajo quinto and accordion, and bassist Javier Cruz. The band’s rich background is rooted in styles like rancheras, cumbias, boleros, and Tex-Mex polkas, but they combine it all with jazz, blues, salsa and various other rhythms all across the board. It’s thinking outside the conjunto box, if you will. Very cool, indeed.
Never tried conjunto before? This will be a lovely introduction for you. You can see Susan Torres y Conjunto Clemencia play on Tuesday nights at the Scoot Inn, 1308 E. 4th St. at Navasota. The show starts early at 7:30 p.m. Recommended, and don’t be shy about dancing. Go for it. It comes naturally.
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