Hometown Hall-of Famer

Gonzales can now add to its list of accomplished alumni an official hall of famer in Tejano music.

Gonzales High School Class of 1976 graduate Fred Soto was inducted into the Tejano Roots Hall of Fame at a ceremony on Jan. 9 down in Alice. He was awarded into the “Million Dollar Band-Saxophone” category for the 2015 class. This comes after decades of performing with acclaimed musicians, allowing him to become one himself.

“It’s an awesome feeling to be recognized for my achievements in music with the induction into the Hall of Fame,” said Soto. “It’s like a life-long dream come true.”

Soto was born here to migrant farmers Julio and Julia B. Soto. Hearing traditional corridos y rancheras at family functions was an early influence to music, he said.

He was able to immerse himself in the many Tejano albums that his family had laying around, listening to various Conjuntos, orchestras, polkas, cumbias and canciones romanticas. His interest grew so much that he learned to play the saxophone by ear and by age 12 was setting off on his first professional gig with his first Tejano band, La Raza Incomparable. He followed that with La Buena Vida, Amistad Mexicana and eventually blended into other outfits of funk, soul and rhythm and blues bands in the area.

Once in high school, Soto was able to link up with Apache Band directors Herb Karnau and Randy Kohlenberg and his skills took off and were rewarded. He was then able to take private lessons and attend camps that earned him many awards including 21 first division medals in UIL solo and ensemble competition on saxophone, scored a first division rating for a solo sax piece at the state solo and ensemble contest and missed all-state honors by one chair his final two years in school.

As he says, there was literally no piece of classical music that he could not perform with proficiency.

Upon graduation, Soto took a full four-year paid scholarship at Texas Lutheran College where he advanced his studies with the associate professor of woodwinds, the late Dr. Roy E. Norton. He credits these instructors with the mentoring he needed to get to the level of playing that would make him a success.

“Their direction, experience and wisdom helped me immensely,” Soto said. “They saw something special in me I might not have seen at the time, but hard work and determination made this a reality.”

From there he received a scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston where he studied advanced jazz, harmony, arranging, composition and ear training among many other skills. And most importantly, he was able to mingle with world-class musicians like Branford Marsalis, drummers Marvin “Smitty” Smith and Jeff “Tain” Watts and trumpeter Terrance Blanchard.

Since then, Soto has had the honor to perform with the likes of Ray Price, The Latin Breed, Jerry Lopez, Little Joe and Johnny Hernandez and has toured with Lorenzo Antonio and Grupo Sparx playing major music festivals and dance halls all across the state.

Soto has also had the privilege to play at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. with the legendary Manuel “Cowboy” Donley, recipient of the National Endowment Award. He has also recorded with Ram Herrera, Ruben Ramos, Roger Velasquez, Rick Vasquez and Bandango and two-time Grammy Award guitarist and producer Bob Gallarza & The All-Star Revue Band.

For those wishing to see this hometown prodigy at work, Soto will be playing at a showcase on May 7 at Templin Saloon as part of their Cinco de Mayo weekend. He will be with Big Band Tejano from Austin, which features 12 members with a five-piece horn section, two vocalists, rhythm section and percussion. They play everything from classic Tejano, salsa, and Latin jazz to Glenn Miller, R&B, soul, Motown and Chicago.

And later this summer, they have been invited to perform at the National Tejano Music Convention on Saturday Aug. 6 at the Westgate Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. That should be a good time for our local hall of famer.