artist info

For more than three decades, conguero Poncho Sanchez has stirred up a fiery stew of straight-ahead jazz, gritty soul music, and infectious melodies and rhythms from a variety of Latin American and South American sources. Throughout his career Sanchez has held aloft the torch lit by such innovators as Mongo Santamaria, Tito Puente and Cal Tjader, embraced by each of those icons and entrusted to carry forward the traditions of Latin Jazz.

On his first new album in seven years, Grammy Award-winning conguero Poncho Sanchez celebrates his life and music of the iconic saxophonist John Coltrane. Trane's Delight is Sanchez’s Latin-tinged re-imaginings of Coltrane classics as well as new pieces composed in honor of the tenor titan. The new release continues Sanchez’s remarkable 37-year relationship with Concord, a rich legacy that has now yielded 27 albums!

The album provides a direct link from the 67-year old conguero to his 11-year old self, who spent his own money on an album for the first time when he bought the 1962 classic Coltrane. Ultimately, Trane's Delight offers a tribute not only to the stellar music and influence of the great John Coltrane, but a spotlight for the myriad ways that the tenor giant’s explorations have fueled courageous artists like Poncho Sanchez. The results, as on this passionate new album, would no doubt delight Trane’s searching spirit.

Sanchez was raised on an unusual cross section of sounds that included straight ahead jazz, Latin jazz and American soul. By his teen years, his musical consciousness had been solidified by the likes of John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Cal Tjader, Mongo Santamaria, Wilson Pickett and James Brown. Although his influences are numerous, with icons such as Tjader, Santamaria and Tito Puente even serving as mentors for Sanchez within his more than three-decade career, John Coltrane is among the most prominent figures to inform his music