Minibill

When Ry Cooder was hipped to Flaco Jimenez back in the mid-'70s, Jimenez probably never foresaw the international fame that was to come. Now look at what the man known in English as "The Nail" or "Skinny One" has done: He's won five Grammys. He's inspired Kanji, a Japanese conjunto group, not to mention provided the spark for a like-minded combo in Paris. He was the eye of the storm in South Texas's legendary supergroup the Texas Tornados, who are said to be reuniting soon, sans the late Doug Sahm. This summer the San Antonio-born and -bred music royal has toured Holland and will soon be packing his accordions for a jaunt through Greece. Oh, yeah, he also met up with his old buddy Cooder in L.A. and laid down some tracks for the next Buena Vista Social Club release. Texas has never had a finer musical ambassador.