In the liner notes of his second album, Sketches of Dreams, Puerto Rican tenor and soprano saxophonist David Sanchez writes passionately of unity, beauty, and spirit. This optimism permeates his music as well: The disc’s title track is a mellifluous meditation on universal harmony. Layered Latin rhythms propel much of the disc, Sanchez’s debt to sax masters Joe Henderson and Sonny Rollins is still apparent. On the original composition “Mal Social,” he elaborates upon the song’s Latin trimmings, incorporating a line of inspired dissonance. Having toured with Dizzy Gillespie’s United Nation Orchestra, Sanchez has confidence to spare, as well as a band that’s precisely synced to its leader’s practiced timing. Tonight and tomorrow at 10:30 p.m., 11:30 p.m., and 1:45 a.m. at One Step Down, 2517 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. $13.50. (202) 331-8863. (Christopher Porter)