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Grupo Mazz Celebrates 14 Years of Success
with the Launching of a New Album
The music of the group Mazz
can best be described as a collaboration
of familiar Tejano
sounds set with more intimate,
collective rhythms.
Mazz, (a name derived from the Spanish
word for "more" spelled "Mas") is a group
that lives up to their name, with each new
album providing more style, more sound
and more honesty, in a commitment that
amounts to 14 years of more successful
recordings with each new production.
Now, Mazz makes history with the
launch of their most definitive sound, "Solo
Para Ti," ("Only For You") delivering on all
expectations with their new hit first single
titled "Estupido Romantico," which has
already made the pop charts in the United
States and Puerto Rico.
This new album, "Solo Para Ti," represents
the group's natural style and maturity.
"It has more arrangements, more percussion
and it is more thought out", said Joe
Lopez. This sound is the result of an artistic
experience that started four years ago
with "No Te Olvidare."
"Solo Para Ti", includes a variety of
musical genres. There is mariachi and huapango,
cumbia, ranchera and polka.
The group came together coincidentally
in 1978 when two good friends, Joe Lopez
and Jimmy Gonzalez, both from
Brownsville, Texas, born on the same date,
decided to form a band.
Oddly enough, both were born in the
same hospital, on August 28, 1950 and both
grew up in the same neighborhood where
they became friends at the early age of 7.
Joe learned to play the guitar on his own
and taught Jimmy right away. At first, their
music was influenced by The Beatles, Dave
Clark and the Rolling Stones. Hispanic
songs were scarce in their repertoire.
In 1969, after a few sporadic shows with the
group "Phases", Joe joined the military. When
he returned in 1974, he sung and recorded
with 'Los Fabulosos" and later with Tony de
la Rosa. During this same period, Jimmy was
playing with "The Fort Brown Band"
When the opportunity presented itself,
Joe was incorporated into the band as its
principal singer.
In 1978, Mazz launched their first
recording, a theme titled "Comprendo mi
Amor." Their first album, called "Mazz,"
and the next, "Mas Mazz," were launched
the same year. A brilliant career was thus
initiated, full of musical hits and continuous
triumphs.
With the evolution of their contemporary
group style, and the expansion of their
repertoire, MAZZ redefines the sound of
today's popular music.
Joe and Jimmy have traveled a long way.
They have earned Grammy nominations
and multiple platinum records. What makes
them most proud, however, is knowing that
they have shared their music with a lot of
people- people who believe in and live by
their songs. "Our songs have a lot of love in
them, that's what matters," they said.
Since the group was formed in 1978,
they have recorded more than 30 records.
Four of them, launched by EMI Latin, have
gone platinum: "No te Olvidare," "Para
Nuestra Gente," "Una Noche Juntos,"
"Mazz Romanticos Que Nunca."
The members of the Mazz group are:
lead singer Joe Lopez, singer and guitarist
Jimmy Gonzalez, conga and sax player
Tommy Gonzalez, accordion player
Homero Esquivel, bass guitarist Mario
Gonzalez, keyboardist Brando Mireles,
drummer Adolfo Garcia, percussionist
Ricardo Barron, and singer Becky Baladez.