Mazz
Encyclopedia
Mazz is a Grammy Award–winning Tejano band
Tejano music
Tejano music or Tex-Mex music is the name given to various forms of folk and popular music originating among the Mexican-American populations of Central and Southern Texas...

 originating from south Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. They were formed in Brownsville, TX, by singer/guitarists Jimmy González and Joe López, and emerged as one of the most innovative bands in their genre after adding synthesizer to combine traditional Mexican music and popular Latin rhythms. They debuted in 1978 with Mazz, featuring the hit single "Comprendo Mi Amor." During the following decades, Grupo Mazz became a successful band on the regional Mexican scene, climbing the charts with hits "Laura Ya No Vive Aqui" and "No Te Olvidaré," among other songs.Lopez, with his suave voice, and Gonzalez, with his winning songwriting and producing talents, formed their own groups after Mazz's break up in 1998. Joe Lopez y La Nueva Imagen Mazz and Jimmy Gonzalez y Grupo Mazz.

Since the separation, Jimmy Gonzalez y Grupo Mazz has enjoyed plenty of success. The group won Best Tejano Album four times at the Latin Grammy Awards from 2001-2004. The group also won Best Tejano Album at the American Grammy Awards in 2004. In 2006, the two planned a reunion tour and release of a new album, Joe Lopez, Jimmy Gonzalez y Grupo Mazz: The Last Dance Mazz Live Reunion.Not long after, Lopez was found guilty of sexually assaulting a teenage relative at his Rancho Viejo home in April 2004. He was sentenced to 32 years in prison, but because he will serve the sentences concurrently rather than consecutively, he's currently serving a twenty year sentence. Joe Lopez' music, including the songs he recorded when he was the lead singer with Grupo Mazz, continue to get airplay at Tejano stations around the world today along with Jimmy Gonzalez Y Grupo Mazz' recordings as well.

History

The group's name was taken from a spelling variation of the Spanish word mas (meaning "more") and spelled similar to that of late 70s band Kiss
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...

. Original band leaders Joe Lopez and Jimmy Gonzalez formed Mazz in Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville is a city in the southernmost tip of the state of Texas, in the United States. It is located on the northern bank of the Rio Grande, directly north and across the border from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Brownsville is the 16th largest city in the state of Texas with a population of...

 after already being a part of the former band The Bel-Airs. The group was discovered by Texas music promoter Luis Silva and was originally signed under the Cara Records label. In 1978 they released a self-titled album and began promoting the single Comprendo Mi Amor (Understand My Love). They then followed with their second album release Mas Mazz later that same year. (There are many variations as to how the group Mazz formed, this is one of them. It is thought that Juan Ignacio Murillo was one of the founders of the group Mazz. He is often never given credit publicly except from fellow musicians in a close knit group. The original members or as said here the "first lineup" would leave Mazz and start a new group called The Force. To listen to their sound check out the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgU-qH2rfCA)

The band started on shaky ground as they received most response from California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 for their music rather than in their home state of Texas. Because of this the band began focusing on their now trademark sound of incorporating synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

 sounds with various Latin music styles popular in the south Texas region such as ranchera
Ranchera
Ranchera is a genre of the traditional music of Mexico originally sung by only one performer with a guitar. It dates to the years of the Mexican Revolution in the early 20th century. It later became closely associated with the mariachi groups which evolved in Jalisco. Ranchera today is also played...

s, cumbia
Cumbia
Cumbia is a music genre popular across Latin America. The cumbia originated in the Caribbean coast of Colombia, where it is associated with an eponymous dance and has since spread as far as Mexico and Argentina...

s and ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...

s. Gonzalez said,
"We were actually more successful in California," "We did rock, and our sound was more international. People asked us if we were from Mexico." Hard to believe now, but people even said they couldn't dance to Mazz's music. The group realized it would to have to rediscover Tejano."
Their first hit Laura Ya No Vive Aquí (Laura Doesn't Live Here Anymore) managed to capture their desired audience as planned. Soon after, their scheduled concert appearances drew more audience numbers and record sales improved. Releasing their first live album in the 1980s, Command Performance, large numbers of screaming fans can be heard in the background showing how much the signature Mazz sound had caught on to audiences. Their record sales soon began to rival that of fellow Tejano group La Mafia
La Mafia
La Mafia is a four-time Grammy Award-winning musical group. It has its roots in the Northside neighborhood of Houston, Texas and has charted a course as a Latin music band.- History :...

, a feature almost unheard of at the time.

Many music awards followed, not only for their high record sales, but also for their contributions to the start of the Tejano music boom. Both Sony Records and EMI Latin
EMI Latin
EMI Televisa Music, also known as EMI Latin and EMI International, is a subsidiary of EMI which focuses on Latin American music....

 later took interest in the band and signed the group to their individual labels. Mazz's albums No Te Olvidare (which received a Grammy ), Para Nuestra Gente, Una Noche Juntos, and Mazz Romanticos Que Nunca have all gone platinum
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...

. Mazz then became members of Freddie Records, owned by established Tejano singer Freddie Martinez, which helped promote new and already established Tejano music talents such as Ramón Ayala
Ramón Ayala
Ramón Ayala is a Mexican-American musician, composer, and songwriter of norteño and conjunto music. Known as the "King of the Accordion," Ayala has recorded over 105 albums for which he has received four Grammy Awards. Additionally, Ayala has been featured in thirteen movies...

, Elida Reyna, and Michael Salgado
Michael Salgado
Michael Salgado is a popular Tejano artist.Tejano singer/accordionist Michael Salgado gained prominence in the mid-1990s by looking back to the 'norteño' sound influenced by Ramon Ayala, and by susequently introducing the style to the younger generation...

.

Post-Mazz

In 1998 both lead singers Joe Lopez and Jimmy Gonzalez split the band, deciding to form their own groups. The following year Joe formed Joe Lopez y La Nueva Imagen Mazz while Jimmy formed Jimmy Gonzalez y Grupo Mazz. For legal reasons, Lopez later would have to change the name simply to "La Nueva Imagen" instead of "La Nueva Imagen Mazz". Lopez y La Nueva Imagen issued the album Mazz Fuerte Que Nunca, a mix of danceable cumbias and Tejano tracks, which featured the hit single Atrapado. Gonzalez y Grupo Mazz went on to release Quien Iba a Pensar.

Band members

First lineup:
  • Joe Lopez, vocals
  • Jimmy Gonzales, guitar and backup vocals
  • Juan Murillo, bass guitar and backup vocals
  • Hector Augusto Flores, keyboards
  • Adolfo Garcia, drums


Second lineup
  • Joe Lopez, lead vocals
  • Jimmy Gonzalez, vocals and guitar
  • Tommy Gonzalez, conga and sax
  • Homero Esquivel, accordion
  • Mario Gonzalez, bass guitar
  • Brando Mireles, keyboard
  • Adolfo Garcia, drums
  • Ricardo Barron, percussion
  • Rebecca Valadez
    Rebecca Valadez
    Rebecca Valadez is a Latina singer, actress, and former member of the Tejano group, Mazz. She performed on the group's 2002 Latin Grammy award-winning album, Siempre Humilde. Her solo album, Rebecca Valadez, under AMI Records latin was nominated as "Best Tejano Album" for the 2006 Grammy Awards...

    , vocals

External links

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