Taking the Pulse of New Latin Beat in Southland

Poncho Sanchez is really into it.

Sitting behind his three black conga drums at the Vine Street Bar & Grill in Hollywood on a recent Thursday, Sanchez is knocking out a solo on the tune Latin/jazz tune, “Half and Half.”

The charismatic, full-bearded Sanchez attacks his drums with feverish thumps from his palms, stinging slaps from his fingers and furious palm-and-finger dances that make the drums seem to purr.

On the same Thursday, Johnny Martinez, 60, fronts his 10-piece Hollywood Salsa Machine at Excess, a huge disco with two dance floors in Glendale.

As the band soars through such tunes as “Anything for You,” colorfully decked-out couples fill the dance floor in front of the ensemble.

Poncho Sanchez is the local king of Latin/jazz, and Johnny Martinez is his salsa counterpart. The pair are the most visible members of a scene that is a rich, vital part of the Los Angeles musical horizon that includes such other major players as Bobby Matos and Heritage Ensemble, Costa Azul, Susie Hansen, Bongo Logic, Francisco Aguabella, Eric Bobo and Rudy Regalado and Chevere.

Most of the action takes place at Miami Spice in Venice, El Floridita in Hollywood, Stevens Steak House in the City of Commerce and the Quiet Cannon in Montebello--arguably the major rooms. But these clubs, and others like Vine Street and Pedro’s Grill in Hollywood, don’t sport Latin/jazz or salsa nightly, though they do feature it with increasing regularity.

The live action is only one part of a growing fascination with Latin music in Southern California. And while this fascination has not yet blossomed into a boom, Latin/jazz and salsa are being heard more and more in the clubs, on the radio stations, in dance studios and in restaurants.

Latin/jazz and salsa are similar but distinctive; generally speaking, both are of Afro-Cuban origin and based on the son rhythmic form that originated in Cuba. While salsa emphasizes vocals, utilizes traditional Latin material and focuses on danceable rhythms, Latin/jazz draws on the mainstream jazz tradition, features fewer vocals and is less danceable. Both musics delve into such well-known rhythmic forms as the cha-cha mambo and rumba.

Certainly, since most Latinos grew up with these styles of music, the interest in them increases as the number of immigrants from Latin countries climbs and Latinos become the majority here.

“What’s happening is that Latin/jazz, salsa and the related musics are becoming the emotional heartbeat music of Latinos here, no matter where they’re from,” says percussionist Matos, a former New Yorker who moved to Los Angeles in 1975.

While Latinos dominate the culture that follows Latin-based music, they are not the only ones who listen, dance to it or play it.

“There are a lot of people like me, non-Hispanics who speak the language, know the dance steps and enjoy Latin cuisine,” says Holly Barnhill, public relations manager of the Biltmore Hotel and a self-described salsero, or salsa fanatic.

Probably the primary component in the ongoing interest in salsa and, to some extent, Latin jazz, is that it’s designed for dancing.

“These are such wonderful rhythmic forms that it’s hard to not move to them,” says Susie Hansen, a former Chicago-based violinist. “You go to a club like Miami Spice, and look at the people who are dancing, they have this light in their faces, they’re smiling.”

Radio is helping expose Latin/jazz and salsa to the general public in a major way. The invigorating, pulsing sounds are heard on a dozen Los Angeles-area stations, from all-Spanish language KLVE-FM to diverse KCRW-FM to all-jazz KLON-FM, but only intermittently or on specialty shows. And while little exposure doesn’t engender growth by leaps and bounds, it does help.

“I play Latin music every day, in one shape or another,” says Tom Schnabel, music director of KCRW-FM and host of that station’s well-received “Morning Becomes Eclectic” program which airs Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-noon.

Matos was one of many artists who insisted that radio was crucial to continued awareness and interest in Latin music. “Shows like ‘Canto Tropical’ (airing on KPFK (90.7FM), Saturdays 7-10 p.m.) and ‘Alma del Barrio’ (which airs on KXLU (88.9 FM), 6 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays) are among the only places you can hear the new hits,” he says. “They have supported us through the years.”

Records by local Latin bands are becoming more plentiful, though not too many Los Angeles Latin/jazz and salsa bands have “a hip record company behind them,” as Sanchez says, referring to his longtime association with the Concord Picante label, which has just released his sixth album, “Chile Con Soul.”

Other bands recording these days include Matos, who is currently in the studio following up his “Bobby Matos and Heritage Ensemble” Enclave label debut; keyboardist/composer Clare Fischer, who has recorded for both Discovery and Concord Picante; and Brent Gollin’s Bongo Logic, percussionist Luis Conte and Ed Jones and La Familia.

Clubs that book Latin/jazz and salsa, however irregularly, are most often quite happy with the results.

“We’re doing really well,” says Lali Lugassy, booking agent for Miami Spice, which features such groups as Costa Azul, Susie Hansen and Papo Conga four nights a week. “Weekends are good and Tuesdays, when we have our musicians’ jam, though a little slow, are picking up.”

But if Latin/jazz and salsa are so appealing and so much fun to dance to, why haven’t they had the more across-the-board acceptance of, say, the lambada, or Latin/rock bands like the Miami Sound Machine? Answer: They are not yet part of the day-in, day-out musical diet of mainstream America.

“When there are waves of interest in this music, especially when films like “Dirty Dancing” and “Salsa” are hot, we think, ‘This is it! It’s going to make the big time,’ but it really hasn’t happened,” Barnhill says. “It just hasn’t panned out a the big way.”

Still, the Latin scene in Los Angeles has always been alive, though some periods have definitely been more healthy than others. And there’s plenty of optimism for continued growth.

“It’s a very joyous, celebratory type of music,” says musician and producer Tom Regis. “Once it hooks you, you’re in. It has the potential to reach a much larger audience.”

* JAZZ LISTINGS: Page 74