Home » Jazz Musicians » David Sanchez

David Sanchez

Latin Grammy Award winner David Sánchez is being hailed as “the most profound young tenor saxophonist working today. In a review, world- renown jazz critic Howard Reich saluted the young bandleader saying, “Technically, tonally and creatively, he seems to have it all. His sound is never less than plush, his pitch is unerring, his rapid-fire playing is ravishing in its combination of speed, accuracy and utter evenness of tone.” Such is the acclaim and respect that Sánchez has engendered from critics, music lovers and fellow artists throughout the world as he continues to push the frontiers of mainstream jazz to incorporate a compelling and rich array of Latin and Afro-Caribbean influences, while remaining true to the tenets of the jazz genre. Born in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Sánchez began playing percussion and drums at age 8 before migrating to tenor saxophone four years later. While a student at the prestigious La Escuela Libre de Música in San Juan, he also took up soprano and alto saxophones as well as flute and clarinet. The bomba and plena rhythms of Puerto Rico, along with Cuban and Brazilian traditions, were among the biggest influences on Sánchez's early taste in music. Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon and John Coltrane had the greatest impact on his playing. "I'm just talking about tenor, now. Charlie Parker is a major influence, of course, and many, many others." In 1986 Sánchez enrolled at the Universidad de Puerto Rico in Rio Pedras, but the pull of New York was irresistible. By 1988 he had auditioned for and won a music scholarship at Rutgers University in New Jersey. With such close proximity to New York City, Sánchez quickly became a member of its swirling jazz scene. He gigged with piano giant Eddie Palmieri and trumpeter Claudio Roditi who, along with master saxophonist Paquito D'Rivera, brought Sánchez to the attention of Jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie. In 1991, Gillespie invited the young saxophonist to join his “Live the Future” tour with Miriam Makeba. The Departure, his 1995 debut for Columbia, gained critical kudos as did the disc's successors Sketches of Dreams, and Street Scenes. Meanwhile, David had begun touring with various jazz greats such as Kenny Barron, Roy Haynes and legendary drummer Elvin Jones, recording with Barron and Haynes respectively. When he returned to the studio for his next project, the results were sterling. Produced by Branford Marsalis, Obsesión would garner the saxophonist his first Grammy nomination.

Read more

Tags

2
Album Review

Edward Simon: 25 Years

Read "25 Years" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Al pubblico del jazz non piacciono molto le compilations ma questa del pianista Edward Simon è speciale. I diciassette brani del doppio CD sono stati scelti da lui--come bilancio e riflessione personale nel 25° anno della sua attività da leader--e forniscono una variopinta retrospettiva delle sue tappe musicali. «L'idea mi è venuta l'anno scorso (2019) quando ho compito 50 anni--ha detto al Columbia Daily Tribune--La raccolta è nata da uno spirito di celebrazione e dalla consapevolezza di quante cose siano ...

11
Album Review

Edward Simon: 25 Years

Read "25 Years" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Pianist Edward Simon immigrated to the United States from his native Venezuela while still in his teens. He stayed, and carved out a successful career in music. His fiftieth birthday rolled around, and the artist decided it was time to take a look and listen back. In a musical journey that spans the titular 25 Years, Simon has crafted a lot of music, employing a Latin/jazz/classical approach with a seemingly effortless refinement, making sounds that are unfailingly engaging and beautiful. ...

8
Album Review

David Sanchez: Carib

Read "Carib" reviewed by Friedrich Kunzmann


Puerto Rican Saxophonist David Sanchez belongs to the most prolific jazz musicians of the past twenty to thirty years. Not that the quality of his output suffers from the frequency of publications. Beyond his own highly praised recordings, he is recognized for his contributions to groups led by the likes of Kenny Barron, Pat Metheny and late Roy Hargrove, to name only a few. Grammy nominated for a variety of different projects and having won the Latin Grammy in the ...

11
Album Review

Gabriel Vicéns: Coming Back

Read "Coming Back" reviewed by Mark Sullivan


The rules for releasing music have been in flux for some time, and the digital single has made its way from pop music to jazz. Puerto Rican jazz guitarist/composer Gabriel Vicéns (now a New York City resident) presents an unreleased track from the recording sessions for his second album Days (Inner Circle Music, 2015). The guitarist found the rough mix of this song by accident and since he still related to the track he arranged for it to be mixed ...

78
Album Review

Gabriel Vicéns: Days

Read "Days" reviewed by Vincenzo Roggero


Non ancora trentenne il chitarrista portoricano Gabriel Vicéns dimostra di sapersi muovere disinvoltamente nel mare magnum del modern mainstrem, con piglio autorevole nella conduzione musicale, con studiata scaltrezza nel variare mood e atmosfere, con intelligenza nell'assicurarsi i servigi di due vecchie volpi come il sassofonista David Sanchez e il trombettista Alex Sipiagin anche co-produttore del disco, pubblicato dalla etichetta discografica di Greg Osby. Il clima generale della registrazione non può non risentire della provenienza geografica del nostro, che ha tuttavia ...

109
Album Review

Gabriel Vicéns: Days

Read "Days" reviewed by Chris Mosey


A varied mix of influences has gone into the songs on this, Gabriel Vicéns' second album. There are the the loves of the guitarist's young life, the vampires and werewolves of the horror films he enjoys and the everyday trials and tribulations of the working people of his native Puerto Rico. He says: “I wrote 'Days' as a tribute to ordinary people who need to wake up early and work hard every single day... doing the same ...

96
Album Review

Gabriel Vicéns: Days

Read "Days" reviewed by Roger Farbey


Gabriel Vicéns recorded his first album Point in Time in 2012, when the guitarist was only 23 and which featured jazz bass legend Eddie Gomez. Days, his second album was recorded in his home town of San Juan, Puerto Rico. He currently teaches guitar at a collegiate level in the Music Department of the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico. Thanks to its tight ensemble,"El Teatro" sounds like a big band arrangement with initial solos from Alex Sipiagin on ...

Read more articles
1

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: David Sanchez

Jazz Musician of the Day: David Sanchez

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating David Sanchez's birthday today! Latin Grammy Award winner David Sánchez is being hailed as “the most profound young tenor saxophonist working today. In a review, world- renown jazz critic Howard Reich saluted the young bandleader saying, “Technically, tonally and creatively, he seems to have it all. His sound is never less than plush, his pitch is unerring, his rapid-fire playing is ravishing in its combination of speed, accuracy and utter evenness of tone... Read more. ...

80

Interview

Saxophonist David Sanchez Interviewed at All About Jazz...And More!

Saxophonist David Sanchez Interviewed at All About Jazz...And More!

Source: All About Jazz

What, besides music, transcends geopolitical divides so gracefully? What else unites people of different nationalities, political persuasions and religious creeds in common celebration just quite as harmoniously? Religions may have captured the hearts and minds of the majority of the planet's people, but remain bastions of ultra-conservatism and mistrust, despite all the rhetoric to the contrary. Sport too, may mobilize greater numbers of people than music, but all too often descends into ugly tribalism. The hippy generation may have got ...

155

Recording

Stefon Harris, David Sanchez and Christian Scott - Ninety Miles (Concord Picante, 2011)

Stefon Harris, David Sanchez and Christian Scott - Ninety Miles (Concord Picante, 2011)

Source: Music and More by Tim Niland

Ninety Miles (the distance between the tip of Florida and the island of Cuba) is a collaborative album featuring David Sanchez on saxophones, Stefon Harris on vibraphone and marimba and Christian Scott on trumpet. Joining them are a range of Cuban musicians that make this quite a special and successful project. Jazz and the music of Cuba have a long history, dating back to the experiments of Dizzy Gillespie and Chano Pozo and even before that to Jelly Roll Morton's ...

95

Recording

Stefon Harris, David Sánchez And Christian Scott Go The Distance On Collaborative Recording "Ninety Miles"

Stefon Harris, David Sánchez And Christian Scott Go The Distance On Collaborative Recording "Ninety Miles"

Source: Michael Ricci

Special 2-Disc CD/DVD Package, Ninety Miles, unites North American, Puerto Rican and Cuban jazz artists and will be released June 21, 2011 All distance is relative, especially where geopolitical borders and ideologies are involved. We speak one language, they speak another. We follow our system, they follow theirs. When we focus on the differences, a relatively short stretch of land or water starts to look like a yawning chasm. But when we look at each other as individuals and focus ...

125

Recording

Half Note Announces A New Release From Kenny Werner "Balloons" Featuring Randy Brecker, David Sanchez, John Patitucci, Antonio Sanchez

Half Note Announces A New Release From Kenny Werner "Balloons"  Featuring Randy Brecker, David Sanchez, John Patitucci, Antonio Sanchez

Source: hubtone PR

New York—Half Note Records announces the arrival of an advanced new work by pianist Kenny Werner, his fifth album for the label. On it, the influential composer assembles a sterling group of associates for an in-depth examination of four originals, all showcasing his singular approach to composition and the quintetʼs collective approach to improvisation. Recorded live at the Blue Note, the music represents a leap forward for Werner, who last year earned a Guggenheim Fellowship Award with his masterwork, No ...

186

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: David Sanchez

Jazz Musician of the Day: David Sanchez

Source:


80

Performance / Tour

Sounds Forged to Sharp Edges

Sounds Forged to Sharp Edges

Source: Michael Ricci

The Jazz Standard wasnt nearly full for the tenor saxophonist David Sanchez's early show on Thursday night, so it's important to get the word out that his current band--new as of two years ago--has settled into its music, swapped out a drummer and become quite great. At the moment there's no new album to illustrate or adhere to. A year and a half's worth of performances since the last one (Cultural Survival, on Concord) have chased away tentative playing. Theres ...

304

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: David Sanchez

Jazz Musician of the Day: David Sanchez

Source: Michael Ricci


248

Recording

Banana Republic Comp Includes Exclusive Tracks from Esperanza Spalding, Ayo, and David Snchez

Banana Republic Comp Includes Exclusive Tracks from Esperanza Spalding, Ayo, and David Snchez

Source: All About Jazz

This summer Banana Republic celebrates the inspiration of urban life with the release of City Sounds, a new digital album featuring never-before-heard tracks from the nine music artists appearing in the City Stories national ad campaign, including exclusive first tracks from OK Go and Liz Phair’s highly-anticipated new albums, as well as songs by Sara Bareilles, Ayo,Dashboard Confessional’s Chris Carrabba, Tommy Torres and more. The limited edition digital album, available as a gift-with-purchase only in Banana Republic stores starting May ...

Jonathan Suazo
saxophone

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Ricano

Ropeadope
2023

buy

25 Years

Ridgeway Records
2020

buy

Carib

Ropeadope
2019

buy

Coming Back

Outside in Music
2019

buy

Days

Inner Circle Music
2015

buy

The World In My View (feat. David Sánchez)

From: Point in Time
By David Sanchez

Videos

Similar

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.