Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Poncho Sanchez

Artist:Poncho Sanchez f/Jose "Perico" Hernandez
Song:Donde Va Chichi
Album:Raise Your Hand




Raise Your Hand is the latest CD by veteran Bay Area percussionist Poncho Sanchez. He was born Oct. 30, 1951 in Laredo, TX and grew up in Norwalk, CA the youngest of eleven children. He was influenced by Afro Cuban music, bebop and R & B and sang in R & B bands as a teen. He started out playing guitar and settled on the congas. Sanchez's big break came in 1975 when legendary vibraphonist Cal Tjader asked him to sit in with his band for a set and then hired him. He remained with Tjader until his death in 1982. Before he died, Tjader recommended Sanchez to Concord Jazz owner Carl Jefferson. He has recorded for Concord ever since and won a Best Latin Jazz Album Grammy for the 1999 CD Latin Soul. Sanchez also does a lot of instructional clinics in percussion technique to young people. Raise Your Hand is his latest CD and was released in May 2007. Though the CD has quite a bit of Latin Jazz and Salsa, it's mainly a tribute to Stax soul featuring Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper and Eddie Floyd including a version of Floyd's classic Knock On Wood. Other guests include sax legend Maceo Parker and salsa singer Andy Montanez and on Donde Va Chichi, singer Jose "Perico" Hernandez. Most Latin Jazz fans should be familiar with Poncho Sanchez but he's worth checking out if you're not aware of him. Here's the Electronic Press Kit for Raise Your Hand.

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