Poncho Sanchez, Then and Now

This week, NPR Music is streaming the entirety of Psychedelic Blues, the new album by percussionist and band leader Poncho Sanchez. Hear the full album preview as part of our Exclusive First Listen series.

I did my first interview with Poncho Sanchez in the early 1980s in Fresno, Calif. He had two albums of his own on a small label, but was still with Cal Tjader's band at the time, and was fully committed to keeping Tjader's version of small-group Latin jazz alive and vibrant.

I've watched and interviewed Poncho as he went through the transition of losing his boss and mentor to a heart attack in 1985, then striking out on his own on Concord Records with a formula not much different from his new album. It's been instructive to watch him and his bandmates carve out a place for themselves among such giants as Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri and Mongo Santamaria.

I'll never forget a phone conversation I had with Poncho after his band's very first trip to New York — perhaps sometime in the late '80s. As he told it, the group set up at the Blue Note, then went back to the hotel to change and rest up before the gig.

 

When they returned to the club in a van, they saw a line snaking around the corner. He said they were bummed that something else was going on nearby that would draw audiences from their gig. But they were astonished to see the line end at the front door of the Blue Note.

Once they hit the bandstand, they faced the toughest crowd you can imagine for an up-and-coming Latin jazz outfit. Sitting in the front row were Tito Puente, Ray Barretto and a few other of their Latin jazz heroes, arms crossed in the "OK, let's see what you got" pose.

Poncho told me they were all shaking and nervous; I remember the anxiety in his voice. But he said they convinced themselves to do what they had been doing before that moment: digging in to play for the sheer joy of playing this music.

The rest, as they say, is history. The backstage after that first set was full of congratulatory abrazos (hugs). Puente and Barretto became not just fans, but major supporters for the rest of their lives.

It's easy to forget that recognition and success in jazz comes after long years of hard work. Poncho Sanchez's story is a reminder of how our heroes made names for themselves: one note at a time.

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Preview all of Poncho Sanchez's new album, Psychedelic Blues, streaming on demand at NPR Music.