JAZZ REVIEW : Sanchez Drums at Vine St. Grill

There’s never much doubt about what the intentions are at a Poncho Sanchez gig--hard-kicking jazz played over a whirlwind of roaring Latin rhythms.

Thursday night at the Vine St. Bar & Grill was no exception. In the opening performance of a three-night run, the effervescent conga drummer and his eight-piece band played a program whose clear goal was to get the feet tapping and the soul stirring.

Sanchez’s band is one of the finest of the ensembles that continue to pay allegiance to the almost symbiotic connection between jazz and Latin rhythms. As he often does, especially in nightclub programs, he spotlighted his excellent stable of soloists. Pianist and music director Charlie Atwell played a remarkable chorus on his own “Fuerte”--one that featured eccentric, monklike jabs and parries. On the same piece, trombonist Art Velasco picked up an energy level that occasionally showed signs of beginning to sag.

On “Bien Sabroso,” trumpeter Sal Cracchiolo’s soaring high notes recalled the electricity of the young Maynard Ferguson, and tenor saxophonist Kenny Goldberg’s long, wailing lines were just right for the 6/4 rhythms of “Senegal.”

But good as his soloists are, Sanchez is the beating heart of his band, and this was a night in which the pulse rate left a bit to be desired. Distracted throughout the set by a spotlight that shone directly in his eyes, Sanchez played at a level that would delight most drummers, but which was a notch beneath his own superlative standards.

Still, in its better moments--which usually came during the high-flying, always intriguing solos of Atwell--it was an evening that delivered most, if not all, of what it promised. Sanchez continues at the Vine St. through tonight.