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Poncho Sanchez and his Latin Jazz Band threw a party out at Johnson County Community College’s Yardley Hall on Saturday night. It took the full effort of the group to overthrow the strict tenets of audience decorum and get the crowd dancing, but they succeeded, with heavy grooves, energetic rhythms, and a healthy dose of soul.

The Latin music crusader—serving as bandleader, conguero and singer—performed with his group for Performing Arts Series at JCCC in association with the Jazz Winterlude festival. Though they’ve played in the Kansas City area many times before, this was the band’s first appearance in Overland Park, KS.

Despite a low energy start, the performance quickly ramped up. Even pieces set at a slower tempo were propelled by intricate percussive work from Sanchez, Joey de Leon Jr., and Angel Rodriguez, grinding grooves set down by Andy Langham (piano) and Rene Camacho (bass), and scorching horn lines from Francisco Torres (trombone), Rob Hardt (saxophones), and Ron Blake (trumpet).

The program was announced from the stage and drew selections from Sanchez’s latest album Chano y Dizzy! The album, recorded with Terence Blanchard, celebrates the legendary collaboration between Cuban conguero Chano Pozo and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. The group also performed numbers from Sanchez’s decades-long career, honoring the musicians and musical styles that influence his work.

They opened with Horace Silver’s “Silver’s Serenade.” At first Sanchez took a supporting role to the sax and piano solos, but soon emerged from the texture in a percussion break. He switched to güiro (with Rodriguez on congas) to sing “Ven Pa Bailar.” An arrangement of Gillespie’s “A Night in Tunisia” was followed by “Con Alma,” featuring Blake on melody, a slick solo from Torres, and Rodriguez on chekeré.

About halfway through the first set, de Leon joked, “You’re quite a respectable audience, but noise—positive noise—is encouraged!”

Sanchez added, “If you feel it, get up and do it!” Similar good-natured goading continued throughout the night as the group did their best to create a club atmosphere in the concert hall.

They switched tracks at this point, jumping into a version of Junior Walker and the All-Stars’ “Shot Gun,” in the best Motown tradition. The tight horn line and Sanchez’s showmanship as frontman got the crowd riled up. Sanchez, an Los Angles native who grew up on the soul tradition of the 50’s and 60’s, has perfected the sharp gestures and emphatic vocals of the genre.

They maintained momentum after intermission with Sanchez back on congas for “El Conguero” and another stratospheric solo from Blake. Returning to their jazz roots with a reharmonization of Herbie Hancock’s “Cantaloupe Man,” they pumped up the energy by raising the pitch and dropping back dynamically for a big finish. An impressively angular solo came from Torres on the Jazz Messengers’ “Ugetsu.” The horns stepped back for an extended feature of de Leon on timbales and assorted percussion instruments.

Sanchez announced a number for “all the drummers in the house” and they launched into Cal Tjader’s “Half and Half.” The piece started with atmospheric tinkling from Langham before setting into a searing solo by Hardt. The constantly morphing styles alternated between triple and duple time (hence the title). Rodriguez started on bongos, switched to chekeré and then to cowbell as Sanchez revved up the tempo during his solo.

Encouraging the audience to “charge it up one more time,” Sanchez fronted another soul tune, “Raise Your Hands,” complete with backing vocals from the band and tight horn pops. That got quite a number of people out of their seats. The set ended with the salsa beat of “Ariñañara.” Sanchez played a vigorous and melodious solo on the congas, punctuated by tasty fills from the percussionists.

Teasing the audience for an encore, they performed a tribute to Latin bandleader Tito Puente as a sort of musical last call, leaving a crowd still dancing in spirit if not in the flesh. 

REVIEW:
Johnson County Community College Performing Arts Series
Poncho Sanchez and His Latin Jazz Band
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Yardley Hall, Carlsen Center, JCCC Campus
12345 College Blvd., Overland Park, KS
For more information, visit jccc.edu/performing-arts-series/

Top Photo: Poncho Sanchez

By Libby Hanssen

Traditional and New Classical, Theatre Contributor

Libby Hanssen holds degrees from University of Missouri-Kansas City (M.M.) and Ball State University (B.M.) in trombone performance and also studied music education at Indiana University. She has studied trombone with Carl Lenthe, JoDee Davis, John Seidel, John Huntoon and Denis Wick, and music education with Brent Gault, Estelle Jorgensen and Katherine Strand.

While at IU, she taught classes in general music, focusing on listening skills and music fundamentals through practical music usage and exploring new sound constructions. During the course of her studies at UMKC, she performed with many ensembles, including the Conservatory Orchestra and Musica Nova. She has also performed with the Kansas City Puccini Festival, the People's Liberation Big Band of Greater Kansas City, the New Jazz Order, the Indiana Wind Symphony and the Muncie Symphony Orchestra.

In 2010, she was a fellow (one of 23 journalists selected from across the US) for the seventh annual National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Arts Journalism Institute in Classical Music and Opera at Columbia University’s Journalism School in New York City.

Most of her free time is spent with her three boys (son, dog and husband) and camera, exploring the many fine aspects of Kansas City living. She enjoys listening to KKFI - Kansas City Community Radio and KCUR - Kansas City's NPR station, visiting Kansas City's fine collection of museums and galleries, and scavenging in thrift and antique stores to add to her collection of toy instruments.

She writes for the joy of words and the process of constructing a story, maintaining the blog Proust Eats a Sandwich (www.prousteatsasandwich.wordpress.com). She is working on her first book: Murray Goes to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.