"Launched during his years teaching at Stanford in the mid-1980s, the Rockin' Jalapeno Band drew upon his earlier career as an R&B musician in San Antonio, and later, Las Vegas. But the inveterately curious Cuéllar kept expanding the Rockin' Jalapeno sound, deepening its connections to New Orleans grooves, jazz, and soul. Over the decades, the group included dozens of top Bay Area musicians, including many who went on to lead their own bands, and became known as a sure-fire act for fundraisers, community events, rallies and protests."
""Even early on he had killer musicians, guys who represented the real Tejano sound he'd come from," said Jesse "Chuy" Varela, a Latin music expert and program and music director at the radio station KCSM. "As he evolved he kept bringing in different folks, like trombonist/arranger Wayne Wallace and drummer Brian Andres. A lot of the gigs weren't going to pay a lot, and he'd be paying musicians out of his pocket. For Loco, it was more about spreading joy through the message.""
José B. Cuéllar, known as Dr. Loco, died Jan. 21 at his Mission District home at age 84; the cause was lung cancer. He was an anthropologist and a multi-instrumentalist who led Dr. Loco's Rockin' Jalapeño Band as saxophonist, accordionist, vocalist, and bandleader. The band began during his Stanford teaching years in the mid-1980s and drew on his earlier R&B career in San Antonio and Las Vegas. Cuéllar expanded the group's sound with New Orleans grooves, jazz, and soul. The lineup included dozens of Bay Area musicians; the band became a fixture at fundraisers, community events, rallies, and protests. Students at Stanford encouraged him to form the band while he taught Chicano Studies and served as senior ethnogerontologist. He sometimes paid musicians out of pocket and emphasized spreading joy through music.
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