Sanchez’s Double Duty, Mixing and Matching

Latin jazz was in the air Saturday night with performances by an impressive array of artists: the Jazz on the Latin Side All-Stars and Poncho Sanchez (leading two ensembles) at Cal State L.A.’s Luckman Fine Arts Complex and Eddie Palmieri, Flora Purim and Airto Moreira at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach.

The Luckman program was yet another entry in this attractive venue’s effort to establish itself as an important jazz destination. It began with the Jazz on the Latin Side All Stars--literally a stage full of players, featuring such highly visible artists as saxophonist Justo Almario, drummer Alex Acuna, pianist Donald Vega, conguero Francisco Aguabella, trombonist Andy Martin, trumpeter Ramon Flores and flutist Danilo Lozano (to name only a few).

The All-Stars, initially organized by KLON-FM disc jockey Jose Rizo, have become a kind of ad hoc Latin jazz ensemble, the personnel occasionally shifting, but the creative level always high. On this occasion, they were outstanding.

Romping through material from their first two albums--including “Descarga Borgers” and “Mamacita Caravana” (both dedicated to KLON personnel) and “Mujer Chicana”--as well as newer material, including Lee Morgan’s “Caramba” (arranged by David Torres) and Dizzy Gillespie’s “Bebop” (arranged by Francisco Torres), the group’s soloing was as scintillating as their crisply performed ensemble passages. (It’s worth noting, however, that the utterly inadequate sound mix--overemphasizing the percussion--made it difficult to hear the harmonic textures and the brisk accenting of the horns.)

Sanchez, announcing that he had decided to start the new year by diversifying his musical activities, performed with two distinct supplements to his basic group. The first was the Ortiz brothers band--Sanchez called the combination “Potiz”--emphasizing danceable traditional rhythms, energized by the tres playing of Eddie Ortiz and the irrepressible singing of Alfred Ortiz, especially in the high spirited changui, “Venga A Bailar Bailadores.”

Switching gears dramatically for his second ensemble, Sanchez turned toward the Crescent City to assemble something he called his New Orleans Gumbo Band. With the singing and harmonica playing of Dale Spalding front and center, Latin rhythms became the seasoning for an eclectic stew simmering with blues licks and Cajun rhythms--yet another example of the surprisingly simpatico results that can be achieved by mix-and-match musical blending.