Norteño-sax or norteño with sax is a subgenre of

regional Mexican music Regional styles of Mexican music vary greatly from state to state. Norteño, banda, duranguense, Son mexicano and other Mexican country music genres are often known as regional Mexican music because each state produces different musical sounds ...

. It incorporates the use of the

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

as the main instrument, as well as traditional instruments such as vocals,

button accordion A button accordion is a type of accordion on which the melody-side keyboard consists of a series of buttons. This differs from the piano accordion, which has piano-style keys. Erich von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs categorize it as a free reed aerop ...

bajo sexto The bajo sexto ( Spanish: "sixth bass") is a Mexican string instrument from the guitar family with 12 strings in six double courses. It is played in a similar manner to the guitar, with the left hand changing the pitch with the frets on a ...

, electric bass, and drums.

History

Norteño with sax originated in

Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

, in the 1940s. Over the years, its popularity had spread to several other regions of Mexico; mainly in the country's landlocked states. It would also gain popularity among the Mexican community in the United States from said Mexican region. Even though norteño-sax had its origins in

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

, as did traditional accordion-led norteño, the former eventually became more culturally associated with states such as Chihuahua,

Coahuila Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, is one of the 31 states of Mexico. The largest city and State Capital is the city of Saltillo; the second largest is Torreón and the thi ...

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...

, and

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí, officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 59 municipalities and is named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí. It ...

; in part due to it being more popular there than its native region. The term "norteño-sax" or "norteño with sax" did not become widely used until the 2010s. Prior to that, it was known simply as "norteño" music. The genre eventually received its own name in order for it to be distinguishable from other styles of norteño music. More recent norteño-sax artists have incorporated modern elements into their music in terms of instruments and lyrics without abandoning their traditional roots.

Artists

Some famous norteño-sax acts include Eulalio González "El Piporro",

Lorenzo de Monteclaro Lorenzo de Monteclaro (born September 5, 1939) is a singer of regional Mexican music. He was born with the name of Lorenzo Hernández in Cuencamé de Ceniceros, Durango, and sang for the first time on radio in the late 1950s on a Sunday talent con ...

Conjunto Primavera Conjunto Primavera is a Mexican norteño-sax band from Ojinaga, Chihuahua. In the 1990s and 2000s they were one of the most popular acts in regional Mexican music. History Conjunto Primavera was formed on the first day of spring in 1978 by th ...

Los Rieleros del Norte Los Rieleros del Norte ("The Railers of the North") are a Mexican three-time Grammy-nominated regional Mexican band from Ojinaga, Chihuahua, Mexico. They are based in El Paso, Texas, United States, and specialize in the norteño-sax genre. Hist ...

, Polo Urías y su Máquina Norteña, Kikín y Los Astros, La Maquinaria Norteña, La Fiera de Ojinaga, La Energía Norteña, Los Pescadores del Río Conchos, La Zenda Norteña, Los Primos del Este, among others.

Repertoire

Styles of songs performed in norteño-sax include

ranchera Ranchera () or canción ranchera is a genre of traditional music of Mexico. It dates to before the years of the Mexican Revolution. Rancheras today are played in the vast majority of regional Mexican music styles. Drawing on rural traditional fo ...

corrido The corrido (Spanish pronunciation: Help:IPA/Spanish, oˈriðo is a famous narrative metrical tale and poetry that forms a Ballad (music), ballad. The songs often feature topics such as oppression, history, daily life for criminals, the vaqu ...

cumbia Cumbia refers to a number of musical rhythms and folk dance traditions of Latin America, generally involving musical and cultural elements from American Indigenous peoples, Europeans, and Africans during colonial times. Cumbia is said to have com ...

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It h ...

huapango is a family of Mexican music styles. The word likely derives from the Nahuatl word that literally means 'on top of the wood', alluding to a wooden platform on which dancers perform dance steps. It is interpreted in different forms, the most ...

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

s, charangas,

polka Polka is a dance style and genre of dance music in originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though generally associated with Czech and Central European culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the ...

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

es, chotís,

mazurka The Mazurka ( Polish: ''mazurek'') is a Polish musical form based on stylised folk dances in triple meter, usually at a lively tempo, with character defined mostly by the prominent mazur's "strong accents unsystematically placed on the seco ...

s, and

redowa A redowa () is a dance of Czech origin with turning, leaping waltz steps that was popular in European ballrooms. History The name comes from the Czech name rejdovák, derived from ''rej'' ("whirl"). Originally a folk dance, it first appeared int ...

References

{{reflist Norteño (music) Regional styles of Mexican music Saxophones