Jazz Reviews : Poncho Sanchez’s Conga Line

Almost 10 years have gone by since Poncho Sanchez recorded his first Concord album as a leader. Not much has changed since then, as was evident during his concert Friday at Royce Hall.

In fact, the music of the burly conga master seems impervious to the march of time; there were many moments when the ambience suggested a trip to pre-Castro Cuba.

Harmonically, the eight-piece group has certain limitations; melodically, too, many of the tunes are quite basic. Thus the third element, rhythm, obviously is the predominant factor.

With Sanchez supported by Ramon Banda on timbales and Jose Rodriguez on bongos, the rhythmic impulses proved as engaging as ever to a crowd that wound up clapping along, shouting, standing, and rocking in rhythm.

Many of the tunes, some written by pianist David Torres, were stated in unison and occasional harmony by the three horns. Most of them involved a two-bar phrase repeated ad infinitum by Torres. Is this simply repetitious monotony, or hypnotic enchantment? Clearly the audience leaned toward the latter evaluation.

Among the more attractive works were “Typhoon” and “Monk,” both by Torres, with Sanchez and Rodriguez creating multiple cross rhythms.

Freddie Hubbard appeared as a guest soloist. Plaintively effective on his “Sky Dive,” he later brought both lyricism and bravura to “My Foolish Heart” on fluegelhorn. His trumpet numbers seemed less organized; in any case, this band is not the ideal setting for him.

The idiom represented here is essentially Latin dance music and entertainment. Assessing it as art would be a critical lack of judgment.