Narcisco Martinez's La Chicharonera

The first ever accordion was built in the mid 1800s, and since then people have adopted new ways to make their music more unique. Narcisco Martinez and Esteban “Steve” Jordan are two very well-known accordionists, but their fame stemmed from their own individual takes on how an accordion accompanied piece should sound. While one is upbeat and repetitive, the other is slow and unexpected. However, they both have components that can be comparable, like the instruments they are accompanied by, and the rhythm they keep.
In the song “La Chicharonera” by Narcisco Martinez, his style of accordion playing is described as a polka, which is an upbeat couple dance in 2/4 time. This is a stark contrast to Esteban Jordan’s song “Cumbia de Chon”, which is
a lot more free-flowing and relaxed. In the song “La Chicharonera”, there seems to be a large amount of repetition, so the background instruments are playing the same notes on the same beat, with Martinez’s accordion playing as the main source of entertainment. Esteban “Steve” Jordan’s style of playing is much more improvised, with a larger band to accompany him as well. They use one another’s energy as inspiration for their improvisations, so it is a lot more relaxed in comparison to Martinez’s song. They include random riffs and shouting throughout the song, but still maintain a repetitive rhythm. Jordan’s minute or so long improvisational solo comes towards the end, but it embodies his style of jazzy, relaxed tone. There is very little improvisation on Martinez’s part aside from a few extra notes added in here and there, or a slight change in the rhythm, so a large majority of the song is dedicated to this simple, repetitive theme. Aside from a guitar and a drum, Martinez is unaccompanied in “La Chicharonera” by instruments or vocalists. Jordan is accompanied by percussionists, a vocalist, and what sounds to be a saxophone or clarinet. I believe that both songs are considered to be conjunto music, but their overall sounds are very different. This comes as a surprise considering they have many of the same instruments featured in their songs.
Overall, Narcisco Martinez and Esteban “Steve” Jordan have very little in common when it comes to their musical styles, at least when comparing their songs “La Chicharonera” and “Cumbia de Chon”. While Narcisco’s style is very classic and clean cut, Jordan’s style is more relaxed, and even comparable to jazz in a way. Martinez and Jordan are two examples that prove just how diverse one instrument can be, and how many unique sounds and genres can come from them.