The name seems fairly straightforward: The Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band. But what the conga player and bandleader really does is take Latin jazz and pour hot sauce all over it. That’s to say that there’s as much spicy, gritty soul jazz in Sanchez’s music as there is Afro-Cuban music; how else do you get to a band with a song called “El Shing-a-Ling” in its repertoire? You’ll easily hear elements of both. There’s a whole world of percussion, with traps and various pieces of hand percussion alongside the Sanchez conga lines, and Caribbean polyrhythmic layers. But some of those layers (the horns, especially) consist of classic Southern soul licks, and David Torres provides a thick sheet of greasy, churchified Hammond organ. The payoff is much the same, no matter which sound you hear: They make music that makes you want to dance, and pound the table to the beat they’re laying down. That’s straightforward enough, isn’t it?The Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band performs at 7:30 at The Hamilton, 14th and F streets NW. $32-$41.50.
DC Jazz Festival: What to See Tonight
