Poncho Sanchez turns up the heat with sizzling performance

PONCHO SANCHEZ LATIN JAZZ BAND, Sheraton City Centre, Jan. 19

The most surprising moment of Poncho Sanchez and his Latin jazz band in concert Monday night was when the world-famous conguero stood up and took the microphone. To that point, midway through the first of two sets, he had enjoyed a little fun banter with the audience in his smooth English with the spice of his slight Hispanic accent. He explained his seven-piece band was about to pay tribute to their friend and collaborator, Booker T. Jones.

Sanchez then cut into the vocals for the tribute song, Eddie Floyd's "Raise Your Hand," off a Sanchez album of the same name. He is known as a vocalist but hearing him belt the soul number live was a revelation. Had he skipped his divine calling at the congas, he may well be famous for shredding souls and lifting spirits with his voice.

The audience responded to the from-the-gut rendition and followed the titular admonition, getting their arms in the sky. Despite the foggy cold outside, Salt Lake was Memphis in the ballroom. (In fact, it was once again a little too hot in the crowded room even without the music.) His complete Latin band (Francisco Torres, George Ortiz, Tony Banda, Ron Blake, Javier Vergara) all were in the swing of things, taking turns in the spotlight but Blake on the flugelhorn and trumpet shone just a little brighter than his band mates.

Well, excepting Sanchez of course. His reputation at the congas is completely deserved. He knows his business as well as every inch of his drums. He is speedy and clever of course, using every part of his hands with excellent technique, laying a foundation of excellence but his choices of expression and his willingness not to go all out at every opportunity show his magnificent maturity and confidence. He transitioned smoothly between rhythms and moods, keeping coherence but allowing plenty of exploration.

But, the evening was such a celebration that many may have missed the finer points of the musicianship and that isn't to say the audience wasn't fully enjoying the show. Dancing broke out early and indeed when Sanchez' group was on their Latin numbers, the desire to move was infectious. It was, unrelated to the thermostat, hot Latin Jazz.

Salsa and Cha-cha provided variety and the richness of the horns provided lovely contrast with the raspy punctuation of the percussion. When the beats turned sharp or emphatic the brass was also there to soothe, letting each section shine without becoming too much.

Highlights were "Night In Tunisia" where the jazz got hairy and thick, Freddie Hubbard's "Crisis" and a couple of numbers from the group's album set for recording in a few weeks.

If the audience didn't feel compelled to stand and move by the music by the end of the night they were compelled by Sanchez himself who good-naturedly demanded that the audience get up and participate in the regular-set closing salsa number. Hot jazz indeed.

E-mail: lc@desnews.com