I have a question about mariachi music -- at least I think it's mariachi -- [View all]
about 20 years ago, when I worked in Morgantown, WV, I occasionally visited a Mexican restaurant which played some interesting music in the background. Unfortunately, I moved away without ever asking them who/what was playing! It featured several trumpets, other brass (I'm pretty sure I remember both trombone and tuba) but the unusual thing was that I could hear two clarinets playing high above the other instruments. At least once, there was a soprano sax instead of clarinet. I don't remember hearing strings or accordion, but that may not mean a whole lot. Does anyone know if this might be some sort of sub-genre of mariachi music, or maybe not mariachi at all ? Is it familiar enough to anyone that they could post a YouTube example that's clearly this and not "standard" mariachi ? Thanks, folks !
PS: Also, were those Eb clarinets ? Or even the tiny little Ab ?
ETA: Here's why I was wondering about Eb and Ab clarinets...
"Yes, there is a link through Maximilian, because many scholars and musical authorities consider that the presence of so many brass instruments and polka and waltz tunes in Mexican music is attributable to this period in their history, and particularly Maximilian was supposed to have taken some military bands with him. Anybody who's a fan of Mexican music will recognize some of the similar sounds, particularly the instruments such as the tuba and the accordion. These were instruments that were brought over from Europe."
https://english.radio.cz/brass-bands-beer-and-a-famous-boulevard-czech-links-mexico-8558700
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