Biography
Esteemed in Tex-Mex circles as the accordion counterpart to Jimi Hendrix, Esteban “Steve” Jordan cultivated an elusive aura that generated persistent folklore about reaching him. One tale directed callers to a particular pool hall in an unspecified border town, while another claimed that only the skipper of a designated charter fishing vessel along the Gulf Coast could connect with El Parche, the nickname drawn from the patch covering one eye.
Jordan entered the world in Elsa, Texas, in 1939, the child of migrant farmworkers, and turned professional on his instrument at age seven. Official studio work commenced in 1963 with a group he and his wife, singer Virginia Martinez, led; an earlier appearance occurred on a 78 rpm disc cut in San Jose, California, in the late 1950s, awarded as a prize for best young conjunto performer. Throughout the 1960s he issued numerous sides on independent Texas imprints, several of which achieved regional success.
Over time he forged a singular approach that prompted the Hendrix comparison, embracing technological tools such as phase shifters, fuzz boxes, and synthesizers at a time when few in his field did so. He incorporated elements of fusion jazz and rock into conjunto music and also cut country-and-western selections. Across these varied sessions his instrumental command remained exceptional; the Hendrix analogy rested not merely on eccentricity but on a tone so forceful and immediate that it seemed to leap from the grooves. Track titles such as “Polka Psicodelica,” a version of “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” that surpassed Vanilla Fudge in intensity, and “La Polka Loca” sketched his eclectic trajectory.
During the 1970s Jordan recorded for Texas labels including Falcon, Fama, and Freddie, often supported by family members such as son Steve Jr. and daughter Bonnie. He produced one album, Canto El Pueblo, on his own El Parche imprint, performing every part himself. The 1980s brought a modest accordion revival across North America following “My Toot Toot,” with new-wave acts like Brave Combo championing Jordan’s work and artists such as Joe “King” Carrasco drawing wider notice to Tex-Mex sounds. These developments opened doors at the nationally distributed Arhoolie label, which both recorded him and reissued earlier material originally issued on smaller concerns.
In 1986 he completed Turn Me Loose for RCA, earning a Grammy nomination (losing in that category to longtime associate Flaco Jimenez). That same year he supplied the soundtrack for Cheech Marin’s Born in East L.A. Even as the new millennium arrived, Jordan remained perceived chiefly as a regional figure. He succumbed to liver complications in August 2010.
Jordan entered the world in Elsa, Texas, in 1939, the child of migrant farmworkers, and turned professional on his instrument at age seven. Official studio work commenced in 1963 with a group he and his wife, singer Virginia Martinez, led; an earlier appearance occurred on a 78 rpm disc cut in San Jose, California, in the late 1950s, awarded as a prize for best young conjunto performer. Throughout the 1960s he issued numerous sides on independent Texas imprints, several of which achieved regional success.
Over time he forged a singular approach that prompted the Hendrix comparison, embracing technological tools such as phase shifters, fuzz boxes, and synthesizers at a time when few in his field did so. He incorporated elements of fusion jazz and rock into conjunto music and also cut country-and-western selections. Across these varied sessions his instrumental command remained exceptional; the Hendrix analogy rested not merely on eccentricity but on a tone so forceful and immediate that it seemed to leap from the grooves. Track titles such as “Polka Psicodelica,” a version of “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” that surpassed Vanilla Fudge in intensity, and “La Polka Loca” sketched his eclectic trajectory.
During the 1970s Jordan recorded for Texas labels including Falcon, Fama, and Freddie, often supported by family members such as son Steve Jr. and daughter Bonnie. He produced one album, Canto El Pueblo, on his own El Parche imprint, performing every part himself. The 1980s brought a modest accordion revival across North America following “My Toot Toot,” with new-wave acts like Brave Combo championing Jordan’s work and artists such as Joe “King” Carrasco drawing wider notice to Tex-Mex sounds. These developments opened doors at the nationally distributed Arhoolie label, which both recorded him and reissued earlier material originally issued on smaller concerns.
In 1986 he completed Turn Me Loose for RCA, earning a Grammy nomination (losing in that category to longtime associate Flaco Jimenez). That same year he supplied the soundtrack for Cheech Marin’s Born in East L.A. Even as the new millennium arrived, Jordan remained perceived chiefly as a regional figure. He succumbed to liver complications in August 2010.
Albums