“Cubano Be! Cubano Bop!”—a sizzling tribute to the legacy of the original conga king, Chano Pozo, and his famed collaborator, jazz great Dizzy Gillespie—is the love-child of Grammy Award-winning musicians Poncho Sanchez and Terence Blanchard. Conga legend Sanchez and trumpet star Blanchard lead the 11-member Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band in a performance that recreates the bristling energy of the masters’ historic 1947 Carnegie Hall concert for an unforgettable evening of Afro-Cuban standards and fresh new collaborations.

For more than three decades as both a leader and a sideman, conguero Poncho Sanchez has stirred up a fiery stew of straightahead jazz, gritty soul music, and infectious melodies and rhythms from a variety of Latin American and South American sources. His influences are numerous, but among the more prominent figures that inform his music are two of the primary architects of Latin jazz – conga drummer and composer Chano Pozo and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. Sanchez pays tribute to these two titans on his new album, Chano y Dizzy!, his 25th recording as a bandleader on Concord Picante, set for release on September 27, 2011. For the first time, Sanchez and Francisco Torres, long time band member (trombone/vocals), join forces to produce the new album.

Joining Sanchez on the 11-song set is multi-GRAMMY winning trumpeter Terence Blanchard. It makes sense that, for this project, Sanchez recruited fellow label mate Blanchard, a New Orleans native who literally grew up amid the Cuban and Latin jazz scene and a longtime fan of the music’s multicultural underpinnings. Blanchard has established himself as one of the most innovative and influential jazz musicians and film score masters of his generation. As a film composer, Blanchard has more than 50 feature film scores to his credit. Currently at work on the score for George Lucas’s long-awaited upcoming movie, “Red Tails,” the Golden Globe nominee and four-time Grammy winner’s music was recently featured on Broadway in Chris Rock’s Tony-nominated play, “The Mother****** With Hat.” Blanchard is currently at work on the music for the Broadway remake of A Streetcar Named Desire and has also been commissioned by the Opera St. Louis for a project that will premiere in 2012. His latest CD, Choices, was released by Concord Jazz in 2009 to widespread critical acclaim.

“These two musicians were the pioneers of what is now known as Latin jazz,” says Sanchez. “Chano Pozo was a genius. He’s considered the godfather of conga drummers, and he’s someone whom I respect a great deal. And of course, Dizzy Gillespie was an iconic artist in American jazz. I had the honor and pleasure of working with him on several occasions. These guys were the first musicians to bring elements of Latin music to American jazz – which has resulted in some of the greatest music of the last 50 or 60 years. I felt that it was time to pay tribute to them and their accomplishments.”

When:         Saturday – April 28, 2012 – 8pm

Where:        Rialto Center for the Arts

80 Forsyth Street

Atlanta, GA

Tickets:     $41 / $51 / $67  - 

For additional information, visit http://www.rialtocenter.org/ or http://www.ponchosanchez.com/flashed.html

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Trivia Question:

Dizzy’s early career begin as part of a duo with what legendary jazz musician?

Entry Deadline: Friday, April 27, 2012