Concert Review by: Joe Montague
Venue: Demitriou's Jazz Alley (Seattle, Washington)
December 28, 2007 - His new CD is titled Raise Your Hand, and the members of the audience
at Demitriou’s Jazz Alley in Seattle Washington did just that on Friday,
December 28th, as they were feeling the Latin vibes of percussionist Poncho
Sanchez and his band. Although Jazz Alley does not have a dance floor, that did
not stop the crowd from getting up and doing the mambo, salsa and cha cha in the
aisles.
The evening was an experience that those in attendance will not soon forget,
as Sanchez kicked off his first of a series of performances at Jazz Alley that
culminated with his New Year’s Eve concert. In addition to Sanchez’s superb
conga playing, there were outstanding solos from trombonist Francisco Torres.
There were several outstanding individual performances by, Joey De León who
played numerous percussion instruments including a very large chekere, guiro,
and bongos, saxophonist Javier Vergara (tenor/alto), electric upright bass
player Tony Banda, pianist/organist David Torres, Georges Ortiz playing the
timbales, and trumpeter Ron Blake.
The Sanchez band opened the set with “One Mint Julep,” from his CD Out Of
Sight (2003). It should go without saying that throughout the entire
concert, Sanchez was at the top of his game, as a conga player, but on “One Mint
Julep,” he was complimented by a soulful organ solo from David Torres, and an
equally terrific performance by trombonist Torres.
The band segued into Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach’s standard, “Yesterdays,”
originally composed in 1935, and sung by Irene Dunne for the movie
Roberta, in which she starred along with Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and
Randolph Scott. During Sanchez’s performance, he served up a
spectacular, quick-paced solo on his congas, while Vergara delivered some hot
tenor sax notes.
Instrumentally, the cover of Wayne Shorter’s “Ju Ju,” which Sanchez recorded
on his Latin Spirits CD, was perhaps the most intriguing song to come our
way, on an evening of splendid music. This may be the first time I have heard an
extended solo from someone playing a chekere, but Joey De León held the audience
spellbound, and they wildly applauded his efforts, as his solo concluded. The
horn section was awesome, and in particular, we enjoyed some big fat alto sax
notes. “Ju Ju,” was performed in 6/8 time.
My favorite piece during the set was the title track from Poncho Sanchez’s
current CD, Raise Your Hand. The cover of the Eddie Floyd hit song
brought a tidal wave of passionate gyrating, dancing and clapping from the
audience. León moved over to the congas, while Sanchez stood with the microphone
in his hand belting out some of the most soulful vocals you will hear performed
in a west coast club. The horns were emotive, the band was swaying and the crowd
was doing what the singer asked, raising their hands.
From “Raise Your Hand,” onward, the crowd never sat down, and they were still
standing when Sanchez and his ensemble returned to the stage to perform their
encore “Besame Mama,” which first appeared on his Conga Blues album in
1995, and later was recorded for the Latin Soul CD.
For more information: Demitriou's Jazz Alley
Photo by: © Morrice Blackwell
Click here for printer-friendly version of review.
Send this page to a friend.
JazzReview.com
