It wasn’t until later that the word “Salsa” became popular. During that time they didn’t call Latin music “Salsa.” It was called Mambo, Cha Cha, etc. My sisters used to dance the Pachanga every night. TP: The Pachanga took New York by storm during the late 50s and early 60s. PS: It was through Chico’s show that my sister’s first heard the Mambo and the Pachanga. Cha Cha Cha – Rene Touzet” on Capitol Records). (Interviewer’s notes: “Con Sabor Latino” appears on Rene Touzet’s recording, titled “Too Much – Mr. The tune, which dates back to 1961 or 1962 was composed by pianist Rene Touzet. PS: “Con Sabor Latino” was Chico‘s theme song. TP: As I understand it there is a connection between Chico Sesma and the tune “Con Sabor Latino.” So there we were, going through the photos and looking for my sisters in the crowd. When Jose and I saw the photos we flipped! At one point Chico handed them to me and asked me to look for my sisters. During lunch Chico pulled out about 300 professional black & white photos that were taken at the Hollywood Palladium during the 1950s and 60s. He’s moving a little slow but he perked right up during our visit. PS: Radio show host Jose Rizo and I paid Chico a visit about three years ago. TP: So Chico was the culprit! Whatever became of him? (Interviewer’s notes: From 1949 to 1957, Lionel Sesma, better known as Chico Sesma featured an innovative, bilingual broadcast on KWOL in Santa Monica, California). He booked Tito Puente, Machito and Tito Rodriguez from New York, Cal Tjader from the West Coast and a lot of other big names. Chico was a trombone player, radio show host, and the promoter who organized the Latin dances at the Hollywood Palladium. They were big fans of DJ Chico Sesma, who had a one hour show on KOWL in Santa Monica. My sisters used to listen to the radio a lot. There were eleven of us, five brother and six sisters. PS: My family moved from Laredo, Texas to Norwalk in 1954. At the time Cuban music was rarely heard and recordings were difficult to come by, yet somehow your sisters got swept up in the Mambo craze. TP: You grew up in Norwalk, a suburb of Los Angeles during the 1950s. I have been making music for a long, long time! (Laughs) I have been a fan of your music for more years than I care to mention. Tomas Peña: Hola Poncho! It’s an honor and a pleasure to speak with you. Suffice it to say, Poncho ranks high on my list of favorite interviewee’s. Particularly interesting are his insights on the lives and careers of Cal Tjader and Willie Bobo. Read on as Poncho speaks candidly about his life, career, music and the artists he has worked with during his long and illustrious career. In my career as a music journalist I have interviewed over 100 artists in the worlds of jazz and Latin music. Somewhat disappointed, I pressed on and lo and behold, an hour and a half later we were still on the telephone! When he answered the telephone we exchanged pleasantries and he quickly informed that he could only give me 15 minutes of his time. So it was with some trepidation that I dialed Poncho Sanchez’s telephone number and held my breath. Since then, he has delivered the John Coltrane tribute Trane's Delight (2019).Speaking with someone you have idolized for years is never an easy task. Between Conga Blue (1997) with Mongo Santamaria and Live in Hollywood (2012), he placed more than a dozen titles on Billboard's jazz charts, including the Grammy-winning Latin Soul and Chano y Dizzy! in collaboration with Terence Blanchard. It resulted in historic dates such as Chile con Soul (1990) featuring Tito Puente, and the following year's Cambios with Freddie Hubbard. Though the busy sideman began his career as a leader on Discovery with Poncho (1979), he forged a four-decade-plus relationship with Concord. As a member of vibraphonist Cal Tjader's Latin jazz group since the mid-'70s, he's continually woven the thread of a unique musical signature through straight-ahead jazz, gritty soul and funk, and the melodies and rhythms of Afro-Latin and South American sources. Grammy-winning bandleader, conguero, and percussionist Poncho Sanchez is among jazz's most influential players.
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