Soul Of The Conga

Performer: Poncho Sanchez
Artist: Joey DeFrancesco; Terence Blanchard
Engineer: Ron Davis; Jill Tengan; Robert Read
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Poncho Sanchez (vocals, congas, percussion); Eddie Ortiz (vocals, tres); Julian Ortiz (vocals, bass); George Ortiz (vocals, bongos, timbales, percussion); Alfred Ortiz (vocals, guiro, percussion); Johnny Ortiz (vocals, maracas); Scott Martin (saxophone); Sal Cracchiolo (trumpet, flugelhorn); Terence Blanchard (trumpet); Francisco Torres (trombone); David Torres (piano); Joey DeFrancesco (Hammond B-3 organ); Tony Banda (bass, background vocals); Jose "Papo" Rodriguez (bongos, percussion); Ramon Banda (timbales). Producers: John Burk, Poncho Sanchez, David Torres. Principally recorded at Mad Hatter Studios, Los Angeles, California from May 31-June 2, 2000. Includes liner notes by Scott Yanow. Personnel: Poncho Sanchez (vocals, congas, hand claps, percussion); Alfred Ortiz (vocals, guiro, percussion); Scott Martin (saxophone, hand claps); Sal Cracchiolo (trumpet, flugelhorn); Terence Blanchard (trumpet); Francisco Torres (trombone); David Torres (piano, hand claps); Ramon Banda (timbales); Jim Cassell, John Burk, Robert Read (hand claps); Tony Banda (background vocals). Audio Mixers: Ron Davis; David Torres; John Burk; Phil Edwards ; Poncho Sanchez; Bernie Kirsh. Liner Note Author: Scott Yanow . Recording information: G Studio Digital, Studio City CA (05/31/2000-06/02/2000); Mad Hatter Studios, Los Angeles CA (05/31/2000-06/02/2000); Rusk Sound Studios, Los Angeles CA (05/31/2000-06/02/2000). Editor: Jill Tengan. Photographer: Jim Cassell. Arrangers: David Torres; Francisco Torres; Alfred Ortiz; Poncho Sanchez. Soul of the Conga is the great follow-up release to Poncho Sanchez's Grammy Award winning CD Latin Soul, and it is every bit as soulful and special. As his 20th CD as a bandleader, (his 18th for Concord Picante), the release also celebrates the 20th anniversary of the master conguero's group. The conguero and his three-horn, three-percussion octet play 14 songs in a set filled with the fiery, vibrant rhythms that have defined the soul of Latin jazz. From the ChaChaCha on "Oye Lo" to the chang�i with The Ortiz Brothers on "Venga a Bailar Bailadores (Changui)," Poncho Sanchez plays a solid set filled with excitement and infectious grooves. Organist Joey DeFrancesco joins him on seven songs, adding his Hammond B3 originality, while Terence Blanchard adds another level of soul with his great trumpet on "Stella By Starlight." The octet stretches on Alphonse Mouzon's "Virtue," with blistering percussion, excellent horn charts, and organ underlinings that make this song an instant favorite because of its great groove. Poncho Sanchez's powerful impact and sources of rhythmic diversification, soulful style, synergy, rhythmic riffs, and cierre, all developed into danceable compositions, make him one of the most influential men in Latin jazz and a force to be reckoned with in the 21st Century. ~ Paula Edelstein

JazzTimes (3/01, pp.92-3) - "...There's a good-vibes ethos that immediately hooks you in....Dripping with the funky booty-sauce of '60s Latin boogaloo, the album's a nonstop body-rocker....a funky good time."

The American-born percussionist Poncho Sanchez is one of the leading congueros in the world, and has mastered a dizzying number of styles and genres, including salsa, mambo, funk, and various gradations of jazz. He got his start in the 1960s, playing with vibraphonist Cal Tjader's outfit, and lending his zesty playing to countless albums, including those by Latin heavy-hitters Tito Puente and Mongo Santamaria. Sanchez eventually started his own brass-heavy group, Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band, whose recordings have garnered consistent critical praise and a Grammy in 2000.

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