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From an introduction at the Zilker Hillside Bluegrass Festival, '96 This talented accordionist/vocalist/composer has been leading a group (or conjunto) continuously here in Austin for nearly 40 years, almost all of them with bajo sexto (low voiced, 12 string guitar) player and duet vocalist Vincente Alonzo. In his younger days he was known as Òel Montopolis KidÓ after the East Austin neigborhood he grew up in and still lives in today. These days, heÕs best known as plain ÒJ.D.Ó by his friends and fans. He began his career as a diciple of locally ledgendary (and saddly unrecorded) Austin Tex-Mex accordion pioneer, Camil Cantu in the early 50Õs. He continues this legacy with his distinctive instrumentation, including the saxophone of Jessie Botello, to create a distictive ÒAustin-styleÓ Tex-Mex sound. His adherence to the traditional, Òold-styleÓ sound should appeal to BG fanÕs. I like to call JD the ÒLarry SparksÓ of conjunto, in that respect. He is a prodigous composer of original material, and has released so many 45s, LPÕs and cassettes that he canÕt keep track of them all. Note:Unlike Bluegrass, this is first and formost dance music, so feel free to shake a leg. Mark Rubin
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