Bio Full Biography »

La Banda el Recodo is not only one of Mexico's most successful banda, but one of the most eclectic. Over the past four decades, the group has performed a mixture of Latin dance tunes, jazz swing, and classical music. The first banda to be recorded, La Banda el Recodo has recorded more than 178 records and has brought its music from the barrios of Mexico to the international stage. Formed in 1951, La Banda el Recodo was conceived by self-taught clarinet player Don Cruz Lizárraga (born July 1, 1918; died June 17, 1995). Although his formal education ended after his first year of junior high school, Lizárraga was a master as a musician and bandleader. Teaching himself to play clarinet, against the wishes of his father, Lizárraga had to sell one of his pigs to raise the down payment for his first instrument. He raised the additional cost by picking corn for a neighbor. In the early '50s, Lizárraga joined a banda de musica sinaloense, gradually becoming the group's director. Shortly after ...