ALBUM REVIEWS

DAVID SANCHEZ

“Sketches of Dreams”

Columbia

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Puerto Rican-born saxophonist David Sanchez takes a Pan-American view of jazz, invigorating the urban tradition with the kind of percussive color that recalls Dizzy Gillespie’s embrace of Afro-Cuban rhythms almost 50 years ago. Applying his own often R&B-influenced; sound--a strategy that recalls his contemporary, Joshua Redman--to this rhythmic melange makes for a stimulating juxtaposition in styles.

The least interesting songs here are the ones with the least percussion, as when Sanchez takes to the tenor for “Falling in Love With Love” backed by only piano (Dave Kikosi), bass (Larry Grenadier) and drums (Leon Parker). But on Jackie McLean’s “Little Melonae”--with Adam Cruz on drums and added percussionists Milton Cardona and Jerry Gonzalez--Sanchez’s soprano skips and skitters beautifully against the rich, rhythmic backdrop. Both pianist Danilo Perez and trumpeter Roy Hargrove enliven the numbers they play on, pushing the saxophonist to make more involved, less predictable statements. While “Sketches of Dreams” transcends Sanchez’s promising debut release “The Departure,” it still finds the artist polishing his craft.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four stars (excellent).