Hermanos Treviño
Conjunto con Padres (Half Breed)
There’s really only one good reason to make music — love. Love of music, of life, of a woman, or of family. In the case of Geronimo Treviño III, traces of all of those have made for one hell of a conjunto album. Treviño is normally a San Antonio country singer, but his musical roots are in los Hermanos Treviño, a singing duo comprised of his father (Geronimo Jr.) and uncle (Gilberto). Paying tribute to them, Geronimo III pulled together a collection of historical recordings and newer tracks that bleeds with love for his family’s traditions and creates the kind of album that one might expect from Arhoolie Records (instead of Treviño’s own label). The first four tracks are of los Hermanos Treviño in 1964, backed by a skinny young accordion player named Flaco Jimenez. Following that are eight more historic cuts from 1963, but with modern squeezebox tracks added in by Flaco’s brother Santiago Jr. — an interesting experiment that’s not always successful. The last five songs, recorded 1989-99, enter the modern age, mixing elements of Geronimo III’s country stylings with harmony vocals from dad, more conjunto accordion work from a now-older Flaco Jimenez, and even a guest spot from the recently infamous Johnny Rodriguez. The result is a beautiful document of not just one band or one family, but of the evolution of a major segment of Texas society and culture. Now this is the kind of family reunion you don’t have to dread!
This article appears in June 30 • 2000.