Richard Pacheco’s love for music went a long ways back to his early years. Growing up in Kansas City, Kansas he discovered the music and the instrument that was to be his signature. In an interview Pacheco did with Hispanic News last year, he talked of music and the tenor saxophone.
“All this time, I have been playing blues, jazz and country. It is not that I put my saxophone up. I have been playing all these years. As a matter of fact, this year is my 50th anniversary of playing saxophone.”
Pacheco was a constant in the Kansas City music scene where his versatility made him a frequent player on many a bandstand. He was passionately eclectic but had a special fondness for the music that he made under his most popular incarnation, Richard Pacheco and the Revolution. Pacheco was excited to be putting the band together again - counting on the old guard to bring back the sound.
“This is the music that was popular back in the 70’s and this is what the people remember me for. The type of music that we are going to play is not only going to appeal to people from my generation, but it is going to appeal to their kids and their grandkids. We are going to make it a variety and have something for everybody.”
Though Pacheco wanted to revisit the mjusical forms of his youth he was looking to infuse a uniquely Kansas City vibe. He saw in tejano the perfect vehicle. “I want to play tejano music but with a Kansas City touch to it. Tejano music is a conglomeration of different types of roots and ideas. It is not like a conjunto with an accordion. Tejano is a free type of music that you can incorporate a lot of things.” For Pacheco that meant incorporating the sounds that Kansas City is famous for - blues and jazz.
Richard Trejo was an old band mate of Pacheco’s, close friend and part of the revival. Trejo admitted that the idea for reuniting the band was especially important for Pacheco. “We love music. We have always loved it - to the end. So why not do it one more time,” Trejo said. “This music is in our blood and we still feel it in our hearts.”
Trejo sadly admits that Pacheco’s plans for the band never fully materialized. Though the group did play a few gigs together, age, health issues and time commitments took their toll. “He tried really hard but he could not get the musicians. He wanted to get up there and play so bad. He loved music.”
Trejo was waiting for Pacheco on the day of the accident. “It was a freak accident. He was supposed to jam with us that day on the Westside at El Pueblito. We were going to play outside on July 14. He promised to be there because he did not show up the last time. He didn’t show up and then his brother called me and told me what happened. He had a little moped. He was taking it for a ride around the block. He flew out of it and hit his head and he was in a coma. I saw him three times before he passed on.”
Many people did not expect Pacheco to die in this manner. For years he had been plagued by physical problems. He was exposed to Agent Orange while in Vietnam and 30 years later came down with cancer. He had been in remission for five years. “You have to slow down a little bit and as you get older, you have to take care of yourself.” Pacheco told Hispanic News.
Putting the group together was a tonic for Pacheco. “It has been a fact of my life. I am not exactly in the best health but once I started to put this group together, I noticed that my health started improving and that is because I am doing something that I really love.”
Trejo remembered how Pacheco would have loved to take the final curtain call. “He said, ‘You know Trejo, I know one day I will have to say goodbye,’ and he said he wanted to die on the stage. I said, ‘No way. I don’t want any part of that,’ and we were laughing. ‘No, No, don’t you die on the stage.’ One day it will be my turn. We are going to miss him.”

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