Paulino Bernal

Ask any true aficionado of Tejano conjunto music about the greatest accordionists in the genre and maestro Paulino Bernal's name will always be on the short list. Yet, his name is unknown to many in the contemporary conjunto audience because he walked away from a stupendously successful career in 1972, preferring instead to turn his music toward a Christian ministry. Despite his absence from the conjunto scene, however, his legend persisted and his music continued to be emulated and admired by players and fans alike.

Now, in 2008, Paulino Bernal will release his first instumental recording since the 1970s, El Maestro del Accordeón y Sus Polkas, and it is an historic return, indeed. With his trills, diminished chords, rapid fire delivery, incredible mastery of keyboard, and complete bellows control, the maestro is back! Working closely with producer (and accordionist himself) Armando Lichtenberger, Jr. of La Mafia, Bernal is seeking to preserve his music for future generations. And, since classic conjunto is the essential underpinning of the modern sound, Bernal makes a profound contribution to both the history and contemporary reality of the conjunto genre.