Desde la bahia—San Francisco

Latin Beat Magazine, August, 2003 by Jesse Varela

¡GRACIAS, DAN! A few issues ago we introduced you to Daniel Sabanovich, the instructor of the Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble at San José State University. Recently, Dan organized a reunion concert at the college to bring back alumni members to play with his 2002-03 band. It was a hot evening featuring an array of onetime students who are now regional stars.

As an internationally recognized trap drummer and percussionist, Sabanovich has served as a magnet for people who really want to learn to play Latin jazz. In the fields of reading, writing and rhythm, he has attracted an impressive roster of drum students. Timbalero Louie Romero (a mainstay of Willie Colón's band in the 1970s in NYC and leader of Mazacote locally) played in the ensemble for many years and took some inspired solos through the night. Curt Moore (Soul Sauce) and Wally Schnalle, both first-call trap set players in the Bay Area jazz scene, wailed. Young lions Jimmy Biala and David Flores also fueled the tire. On the instrumental side, Hafez Morizadeh played tenor sax, alongside Jeff Cressman on trombone and vocalists Sandy Cressman and Claudia Villela. The 2003 students were equally impressive with great chops and enthusiasm. Sabanovich was in his element, conducting the ensemble with a diligent eye, making sure everything flowed accordingly, and passages weren't missed.

What he omitted to say was that he was retiring, but the smile on his face and dance-happy stage seemed to hint at something special. Since 1979, he has taught at the college and championed a curriculum at San Jose State focused on Latin jazz. Now one can get a degree with a Latin jazz focus through the Jazz Studies Dept. Thank you, Dan, for helping further the education of tomorrow's bandleaders and today's instrumentalists in the Bay Area Latin scene.

¡QUÉ VIVA LA SALSA! César Ascarrunz, the Bay Area godfather of salsa, has decided to jump back into the nightclub scene with the opening of César's Lounge. In this new venue, located inside the Hyatt Regency Hotel on SF's Embarcadero, he has reunited his César's Latin All Stars with Roger Glenn (vibes/güiro), Johnny Nelson and Ana Daisy (vocals), Orestes Vilató (timbal), Carlitos Franco (bass) and others.

Since his days as a student at UC Berkeley (playing in Los Locos with Chepito Areas) to the opening of his first César's in the early 1970s in North Beach, Ascarrunz has been the Federico Pagani of the Bay Area. César's Latin Palace was a west coast salsa monument that featured the greats of Latin music for over 20 years. He was a colorful impresario who ran for mayor several times, campaigning with an old firetruck that blasted salsa out of speakers. It's great to have César back with his montuno!