Cubano Be!  Cubano Bop!  Poncho Sanchez with Terence Blanchard 
Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago Illinois,  May 5 2012

All photos and review by Bill Tilford
All rights reserved

We caught the late show for this date, which was a tribute to the historic collaboration between Dizzy Gillespie and Chano Pozo in the 1940s  (we'll be reviewing their recent CD Poncho Sanchez & Terence Blanchard = Chano Y Dizzy!  in the near future).  Poncho's band opened the concert with Yesterdays, a medley of Willie Bobo songs and Juju, a 6/8 Latin jazz number.  Poncho has always had a fantastic party band, but in recent years the quality of the solo work throughout the ensemble has also matured to the point that they should be taken more seriously as a Jazz band as well than they have been at different points in the past.  We were very impressed with the depth of this band both in the brass section and the wonderful piano solos.    Terence came out at the midpoint of the show to open with Groovin High  (which ended with quotes from Four) and a beautiful version of Nocturna.  The regular set closed with a rousing version of Ariñañara.   Terence wasn't really  attempting to do an exact imitation of Dizzy but did come pretty close to emulating some of his phrasing and note-bending in Nocturna.  
The only constructive criticism we have concerns the encore choice of a Salsa version of Reve's Guaricompe.   It's great that the group is dipping into Reve's book,  but this particular song doesn't really lend itself to a Salsa translation that well compared to some of the slower material in Reve's repertoire.   We would encourage the band to check out something like Pu Pu Chan Chan or El Martes for example; these are the types  of songs that are servicable without requiring the changes to  slower tempos  that may please Salsa dancers but can also irk  those who are familiar with the original Changüi or Timba versions.  Still, a great concert overall, and worth checking out if it comes to your city.