Joel Guzman and Sarah Fox: “Cumbia Mundial”
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A few weeks back Joel Guzman stopped by KUT with a cadre of musicians for a session in Studio 1A. They were here to talk about Squeezebox Mania, a cross-genre mini-festival of accordionists from around the world. They also played some great tunes including today’s song of the day “Cumbia Mundial.”
Guzman is one of the world’s preeminent accordion players. As a child, “El Pequeño Gigante,” as he was known by much older musicians, he was considered a prodigy on the instrument. The adult Guzman has continually pushed the boundaries of the instrument, blending genres like conjunto, jazz, rock, R&B, country and folk at will. Guzman’s worked with a galaxy of musical stars from Kris Kristofferson and Joe Ely to Flaco Jimenez and Freddy Fender (to name a few).
For today’s song of the day, Guzman was joined by his wife and musical partner Sarah Fox, an extremely talented vocalist who’s had quite the career in her own right. In 2009 the pair won a Latin Grammy for “Best Tejano Album” for their album Conjuntazzo. Today’s song “Cumbia Mundial” appeared on the Guzman and Fox’s 2006 album Latinology, and this rocking version recorded live in Studio 1A is a perfect way to kick off the weekend.
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