Playing It With Style

You might think percussionist Poncho Sanchez has enlisted the services of a full-blown big band when you hear the opulent sounds in his new album, “Afro-Cuban Fantasy.”

And yet, the celebrated conguero (who will be performing tonight at the Sportsmen’s Lodge) kept his smoking ensemble unchanged for a record that harks back to the glorious days of classic Latin jazz.

“It’s not that much bigger of a sound than what I normally do,” he explained last week during an afternoon meeting at a Pasadena coffee shop. “It’s the style of the music that gives it that quality. Take the Clare Fischer standard ‘Morning,’ for instance. Everybody plays it as a cha-cha-cha. This time, we did it in the Afro-Cuban 6/8 style, with African percussion such as the bata drums and the chekeres.”

“Morning” is graced by the presence of jazz vocalist Dianne Reeves, who also sings on two more of the album’s tracks. And the crisp, sophisticated musical arrangements are courtesy of pianist David Torres, Sanchez’s musical director.

The record’s name, “Afro-Cuban Fantasy,” takes you back to New York in the 1940s and ‘50s, when musicians such as Machito and Tito Puente played Latin beats in such legendary clubs as the Palladium. American jazz players quickly fell in love with the Afro-Cuban side of things, and started incorporating those sounds into their music.

Thus, Latin jazz was born through tunes such as Chano Pozo’s “Manteca” and Mario Bauza’s “Tanga.” The orchestras’ huge horn sections created majestic orchestral moods that today are synonymous with nostalgia.

“It was a different time, and I caught the tail end of it,” Sanchez said. “I wish I could have played with Tito Rodriguez’s band. I never got to meet Machito, but I got to play with Mario Bauza and [Machito’s sister] singer Graciela. Really nice people, from the old school.”

The fact that Sanchez was able to faithfully recapture the spirit of a bygone era is nothing short of outstanding. But the percussionist’s pedigree is notable to begin with. He spent his formative years playing the congas for one of his musical idols: vibist Cal Tjader, one of the many white men who were seduced and forever changed by Latin music.

Although Sanchez frequently rerecords tunes he played with Tjader’s band, his eye is set on the future. Tentative plans for future albums include a tribute to singer extraordinaire Tito Rodriguez and a record devoted to the Cuban style of salsa known as charanga, a delicate combination of Afro-Cuban drumming with strings and flutes. Stylistic experimentation notwithstanding, Latin jazz remains Sanchez’s first passion.

“This music is my life,” he said emphatically. “I’m not playing Latin jazz because it’s hot now, or because it’s the latest trend. I’ve been playing it all my life, and as long as I’m here in this world, I’m gonna keep playing it.”

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BE THERE

Poncho Sanchez tonight (10 p.m.) at the Sportsmen’s Lodge, 4234 Coldwater Canyon Blvd., Studio City. Tickets: $15. Reservations: (310) 450 8770.