Led by veteran vocalist Max Peraza, the Bandononona Clave Nueva offers an original and exciting take on the horn-and-drums-driven banda tradition. Peraza began his professional career at age 18, fronting several regional bands -- Banda Huizache, 5ta Banda, and La Reina Banda. These apprenticeships prepared him for joining the all-star Banda Rancho Viejo, where he remained for six years, delivering chart hits such as "Mi Niña Mimada" and "Con Que Derecho y Evítame la Pena." In 2013, he left the group to found Bandononona Clave Nueva de Max Peraza, enlisting an all-star cast of both younger and veteran players, including second voice Alejandro Gastelum, backing harmony vocalists Saúl Lopez Tejada and Daniel Beltrán, Joel Angulo Barranca on tuba, and three trumpeters, four clarinets, three trombones, drummer Orlando Velarde, and percussionist Eric Rodríguez Souza. Their first single, "Vida de Perros," became a regional hit and was followed by a duet with Saúl "El Jaguar" Alarcon on the bumping corrido "Al Estilo Mafia" -- the song crossed over from Mexican Radio to the U.S. Latin stations. The record was so popular that the pair was nominated for a Bandamax Award in 2014. It also appeared as a bonus track on the group's debut Fonovisia album Ya No Vives en Mí, issued in February of 2015. Opening track "Cual Adios" was also issued as a single and declared the year's number one song for having the largest audience during its long run on the Mexican regional chart in the U.S., where it peaked at 12. (It also placed in the Top 40 on the Hot Latin Songs and Latin Airplay charts.) The group's work ethic was impressive. In addition to playing nearly 200 shows between 2015 and 2016, they also kept issuing singles, including the great summertime heartbreaker "Dime Como" followed by the torch song "Para Ti Nada Mas," which became the opening title cut for their second album issued in January 2017. ~ Thom Jurek