Poncho Sanchez live @ Steamers, Feb 15

SUNDAY, FEB 15, 7P-11P ALL AGES- $25
CALL 714-871-8800 FOR TIX
GRAMMY AWARD WINNING  PONCHO SANCHEZ AND HIS LATIN JAZZ BAND

Steamers Jazz Club and Cafe
138 W. Commonwealth Ave
Fullerton, CA 92832
jazz@steamersjazz.com
www.steamersjazz.com

Although born in Laredo, Texas, in 1951 to a large Mexican-American family, Sanchez grew up in a suburb of L.A., where he was raised on an unusual cross section of sounds that included straightahead jazz, Latin jazz and American soul. By his teen years, his musical consciousness had been solidified by the likes of John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Cal Tjader, Mongo Santamaria, Wilson Pickett and James Brown. Along the way, he taught himself to play guitar, flute, drums and timbales, but eventually settled on the congas. t colors and brightest lights to emerge from either side of the border. At any given show, on any given record, fragments of Latin jazz, swing, bebop, salsa and other infectious grooves collide and churn in a fiery swirl, with results that are no less than dazzling.

At 24, after working his way around the local club scene for several years, he landed a permanent spot in Cal Tjader's band in 1975. "I learned a great deal from Cal," says Sanchez, "but it wasn't as though he sat me down and taught me lessons like a schoolteacher. Mostly it was just a matter of being around such a great guy. It was the way he conducted himself, the way he talked to people, the way he presented himself onstage. He was very elegant, very dignified, and when he played, he played beautifully. The touch that he had on the vibes - nobody has that sound. To me, he was - and is, and always will be - the world's greatest vibe player." Now, Poncho Sanchez became a legend himself, and a perennial winner in the Percussion category of the DownBeat Polls.