From the small town of Buda, Texas, - just south of Austin - has come one of the biggest musical explosions to hail from the Lone Star State in many a moon. Or from anywhere else, for that matter. Some are calling it roadhouse conjunto; some musica a la Americana; but whatever you call it, color it brilliant, refreshing, energizing and honest music like nothing you've heard before.

This stellar combination of Latino and American roots music is called Aztex, featuring Tejano accordion master Joel Guzman and sparkling vocalist Sarah Fox, along with guitarist Kevy Rojas and drummer/percussionist Brian Sebastian. Together, these musicians have fashioned Short Stories, an album destined for many "best of" lists before the year is over. With producer Steve Berlin (of Los Lobos and producer of the Grammy-winning Los Super Seven album) at the helm, Aztex has created a unique, bilingual fusion of rock, blues, jazz, traditional Mexican conjunto and tropical rhythms that dazzles the senses.

While they grew up in different parts of the country - Guzman in Washington's Yakima Valley and Fox in Temple, Texas, - the husband and wife team seemed destined to come together. Both come from musical families and began playing at a young age. Joel Guzman's father, who grew up in Texas but resettled in Washington after World War II, was a bajo sexto player and taught his son to play the accordion. Before he was in elementary school, Joel was performing with his father in a band on trips back to Texas at cantinas and house parties, as well as on television, radio and records.

From his early days as an accordion prodigy, when he was known as "El Pequeno Gigante" (The Little Giant), Guzman's influences included not only traditional forms of Mexican music, but also American rock, jazz, blues and country. Sarah Fox's mother was a singer who turned her daughter on to her Mexican heritage; and her father exposed her to the beautiful Cuban rhythms before Sarah, herself, began to make inroads as a studio singer. Her musical influences include jazz singers Billie Holiday, Dianne Reeves and Brazilian singer/ pianist Tania Maria; Latin stars Celia Cruz and Tito Puente; and such American singers as Aretha Franklin, Etta James and Chaka Khan. She recalls hearing Joel and his family on the radio in Texas, never knowing at the time that the two would come together in a marital and musical family. It was during Guzman's tenure with Texas group Little Joe, Johnny y La Familia, the legendary Tejano band, that he and Sarah met. "Little Joe would get me up to sing," remembers Sarah, " as well as Ruben Ramos and the Mexican Revolution. I would sing Dionne Warwick tunes. I think it's cool that on Los Super Seven I finally got to perform on a great album where both Ruben and I sang backup vocals on four songs."

Both Guzman and Fox had studied jazz and classical music in college, putting those talents to work once they became in demand as session players, recording several albums with such Tejano artists as Ram Herrera and Ruben Ramos. Most recently, Joel has recorded with Joe Ely, Chris Smither, Wayne Hancock, Rick Trevino and Lloyd Maines. Guzman and Fox have also formed their own production company to do radio and television commercials and are looking toward scoring films in the near future.

The catalyst who would eventually bring about the sessions for Short Stories was Los Lobos musician Steve Berlin, who produced the Los Super Seven album, which featured both Joel and Sarah. Guzman played accordion on six tracks ("El Canoero," "Deportee," "Mi Ranchito," La Morena," "El Ausente" and "Rio de Tenampa") and Sarah sang background vocals on four tracks. Joel and Sarah also performed with the Los Super Seven band on tour, often opening the show, too. "Steve Berlin called from New Zealand after the album won the Grammy," recalls Guzman, "and said 'congratulations on your Grammy.' I basically blurted out to him, 'What is it gonna take to get you to produce an album for Aztex?' He said, 'You don't want to know. Let's just say it would be a laborof love.'"

While Aztex had been touring on their own and with Joe Ely, performing a number of the songs that appear on Short Stories, much of its flavor comes from the interaction of the band with producer Berlin. "We were in the studio before Steve came in," remembers Sarah." "Me, Joel and Jr. Arguinzoni were playing around with coros and soneos (the call and response style used in many Salsa tunes). He really fed off the energy of everything we were doing and wanted to incorporate a lot of what he heard into the music." Adds Joel, "Steve really brought out the best in us."

Six of the album's 11 tracks are originals, which draw on Joel and Sarah's heritage as well as the origins of the other band members, including Venezuela and Puerto Rico. "Why Don't You Love Me?" kicks things off in salsa grande style with an energy level that's contagious. "Perfect Woman" shows off their Joe Ely Texas rock influences and moves with a funky bassline. "Sueno Del Rio" creates a passionate Mexican aura, with guitar, accordion, percussion and Sarah's smoldering vocal carrying the beautiful melody. Guzman handles the lead vocals on the powerful "Padre Prays For Rain," which he describes as "American music derived from Mexican folk music." One of the CD's highlights is "Amorique," which Guzman calls " a chant that describes a feeling that we want the people to experience in the joy of the spirit. It literally has the bongos talking to the people." "It's A Mystery" has a Latin pop feel with a retro sound.

Highlights of the album's non-original songs include "La Ultima Noche," a bolero romantico, that has a classy, in-the-pocket groove; Sarah Fox's stunning vocal on the Lydia Mendoza 1947 classic, "La Jaibera;" the band's wonderful Latin cha-cha treatment of Joe Ely's "Maybe, Maybe," which features him dueting with Sarah on the vocal; the beautiful "Pajarrillo Barranqueno," a lullaby that both Joel's and Sarah's parents sang to them as children; and "El Indio/Tamaulipas," a traditional Mexican song that is carried by Guzman's magnificent accordion work.

Short Stories comes at a time when Latin music is exploding. And though it has elements of salsa/tropical, regional Mexican and Tejano, it is not any of those. It is a unique creation Texas Latinoamericanos that shows the enormous creative possibilities of Latin music combined with American musical styles. "We want to speak to young Hispanics in the U.S.," says Guzman, "by translating our music into forms that everyone can understand." After hearing the debut recording of Aztex, people from all over the world will need no translation.

Aztex - Short Stories - Release Date: September 14, 1999

Publicity Contact:
Mark Pucci Media (770) 804-9555 / FAX (770) 804-0027
E-mail: Mpmedia@aol.com