New Album-Poncho Sánchez Live@the Belly Up Tavern

Poncho Sánchez Announces New Live Album Poncho Sanchez & His Latin Jazz Band Live at the Belly Up Tavern Capturing 10 Songs From A Singular Performance at the Beloved Southern California Venue

Sánchez and His Band Will Celebrate the Release with A Show at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, CA on March 29, 2025

GRAMMY-Award-Winning percussionist and bandleader, Poncho Sánchez, has announced a new album, Poncho Sánchez & His Latin Jazz Band Live at the Belly Up Tavern. Recorded live at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, California, the new live album showcases the percussion legend with enthralling new arrangements of ten songs captured over the course of a singular performance at the beloved Southern California venue. Chock full of vibrant rhythms, nods to the greats, and sonic storytelling that have become synonymous with Sanchez’s name, the new live record comes out on March 28, 2025 marking the 31^st album release of his storied career. Pre-save and pre-order HERE. 

With the Belly Up Tavern newly outfitted for pristine audio and video capturing, Sánchez saw the opportunity for a new milestone project and handpicked material that balances fresh takes on both Latin jazz standard and deep cuts and familiar repertoire in Sánchez’s catalog. Since the inception of ensembles under his own name beginning in 1980, Sánchez has operated by having his band members bring new songs or arrangements to the table and collectively fine tuning them until they get his stamp of approval. Preparing for the live recording was no different and was approached like any other recording project.

“À Bientôt” is one of the new arrangements of a Freddie Hubbard original done by Sánchez’s trumpet player, Ron Blake, and never recorded by Sánchez’s band prior. For a month leading up to the performance, Sánchez worked with the ensemble developing their own take on the standard with a heavy cha-cha feel attune to one of Sánchez’s signature styles. “Poncho’s Beat” is mambo based on “Monguito’s Theme,” a song by the son of one of his heroes and mentors, Mongo Santamaria. “Monguito,” literally translates to “little Mongo” and was written by Monguito Santamaria in 1968 appearing on his album Hey Sister. Originally, Sánchez asked Blake to write an arrangement of “Monguito’s Theme” to bring to the band swapping the lyrics for “Ponchito’s Theme” with the blessing of Santamaria. Upon suggestion of his musical director and trombonist, Francisco Torres, they decided that rather than arrange the original song, they come up with their own new tune inspired by the lyrics and groove of “Monguito’s Beat.” The new original by Torres has a full, punctuated horn lines reminiscent of large Latin big band ensembles, features invigorating piano montunos courtesy of Andy Langham, and has a danceable vocal hook inspired by Santamaria’s song proclaiming, “All you Latin lovers, Poncho Sánchez got the beat. He’s got all the Latin rhythms that will knock you off your feet.”

“Sabor, Sabor” is a tune off of the 1968 album Fania All Stars record Live at the Red Garter, Vol. 1. Sánchez was just out of high school reveling in the salsa craze that was beginning to explode and immersing himself in the record that featured top-tier Latin artists who recorded under Fania Records such as Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Ricardo “Richie” Ray, Bobby Cruz, and more. He first recorded the song in 1970 when he was in a Tex-Mex band called Little Jimmy y Sus Vagabundos when it was put out on a 45. Fast forward 50 years later and Sánchez gave Torres a copy of the 45 and told him the band should revisit “Sabor, Sabor.” With inspiration from the original’s simplistic choro and flute fills, Torres and Sánchez fill the tune out with robust horn lines and unison vocal lines.

Following suit to never-previously-recorded songs “Llegué,” (translating into “arrive”) was a song Sánchez heard performed by Joe Cuba Sextet off of their 1964 album Diggin’ the Most. The original recording has the melody performed by Tommy Berríos on vibraphone and hasn’t been revisited and rerecorded since Tito Puente recorded a version in the 80s and had been laying down for a long time. Sánchez approached Torres to arrange a rendition for Sánchez’s band and it’s one of his favorite songs to play live that features timbale player José Pérez.

“Night Dream” is an original Afro-Cuban song in 6/8 by Ron Blake that Sánchez recorded on Blake’s solo record Assimilation a few years back. Sánchez suggested that he arranged the song for his Latin ensemble with a full 3-horn arrangement and featuring the Cuban Batá Drums performed by the band’s bongo player Giancarlo Anderson. Traditionally, there are three separate musicians playing each batá drums on their lap, but Anderson played all three drums at once with them propped on stands for a virtuosity display of performing all three patterns at once.

With several arrangements contributed by band members, Sánchez thought very intentionally about which of his originals he wanted to contribute to the set to capture on the live album. At the suggestion of Torres, he put together a medley of three of his original and titled it “Poncho in the One Ways,” a nod to his upbringing in Norwalk, California. While previous recordings have featured 3-song medleys of his more mid-tempo cha-cha material, this is the first song of that nature to highlight his uptempo mambo work in a medley format.

On choosing to record a record near San Diego at the Belly Up Tavern, Sánchez remarks on the geography serving as a central hub between their Southern California audience and fans in Tijuana, Mexico who have the opportunity to drive up for San Diego shows. Historically, Sánchez and his band have performed at top festivals and venues across the city. Once the Belly Up Tavern enhanced their live recording capabilities, it felt like a natural fit to record a live album there. “When they upgraded for live recordings, it was the perfect opportunity. This club feels like home.”

Sánchez’s career has left an indelible mark on the music world. From playing with the likes of Latin jazz pioneers such as Cal Tjader and Clare Fisher in the 1970s to winning a GRAMMY for Best Latin Album in 1999 for his Latin Soul album as well as receiving a Latin GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award, his journey is marked by consistent output, evolution, and accolades. The additional 30 albums under his name include works such as Soul of the Conga (2000), Latin Spirits (2001), Out of Sight! (2003), Do It! (2005), Raise Your Hand (2007), Psychedelic Blues (2009), and Chano y Dizzy! (2011). His most recent studio album, Trane’s Delight (2019) celebrates the life and music of saxophone legend John Coltrane while offering additional original compositions.

To celebrate the release of Poncho Sánchez & His Latin Jazz Band Live at the Belly Up Tavern, Sánchez and his band will perform at the Belly Up Tavern Solana Beach, California on March 29, 2025, the night following the album release with doors at 7 and the show starting at 8. Tickets are available HERE.

For more information and a complete list of performance dates, please visit ponchosanchez.com.

from https://latinjazznet.com