*** Poncho Sanchez

CONGA BLUE

(Concord Picante)

West Coast percussionist Poncho Sanchez's 15th album for Concord is a tribute to its special guest, Mongo Santamaria. At 75, Santamaria may not play with the explosive power of his youth, but he brings a lifetime of experience to the album. As his solos on "Happy Now" and "Bésame Mama" indicate, he knows that the power of rhythm is a matter not just of speed and force, but of finesse and color.

Sanchez himself has absorbed his mentor's wisdom; he favors carefully paced patterns of cleanly articulated detail played with a hard iron-and-mahogany tone. As a leader, he keeps the rhythms true to their Afro-Cuban roots and the tempos danceable. The band swing with a relaxed, agreeable verve closer to 1940s mambo than 1970s salsa. Stan Martin squeezes funky blues riffs from his trumpet on "Bésame Mama," Alex Henderson gets some startling growls from his trombone on "Mambo de Cuco," and the versatile Scott Martin solos on saxophones and flute. But the highlight of the album is the percussion work. Tracks like "Conga Blue," with its irresistible three-way chekere battle, and "Mon Pa Mon Po," which features just the rhythm section and Santamaria, show us how profoundly musical a master percussionist can be.

-- Ed Hazell

(Poncho Sanchez appears at Scullers this weekend, February 20 through 22.)