David Sanchez: Coral

Latin Beat Magazine, Oct, 2004 by Jesse Valera

DAVID SÁNCHEZ Coral (Columbia)

To compare David Sánchez at this stage of his career with any other saxophonist would be a mistake. On Coral, he demonstrates an ascension into an orchestral realm that places his tenor sax at a new artistic level. He takes his own compositions (along with those of Antonio Carlos Jobim, Héitor VillaLobos and others) and presents them with finesse and maturity. As interpreted by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and his own top-notch sextet (featuring pianist Edsel Gómez and altoist Miguel Zenón), the pieces unfold like aural pastries you can't get enough of. The album opens with Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar, a beautiful Jobim ballad, that is lush, intimate, soft and sweat. Matita Pere, another Jobim classic follows, and picks up the tempo for a nice samba romp. The album's arrangements, as conceived by the orchestral conductor Carlos Franzetti, compliment Sánchez's melodic invention to full advantage. The Elements II is a great interactive piece between Zenón and Sánchez that is abstract and harmonically challenging. As David explains in the liner notes, Coral is a "dream come true." From his humble roots in Puerto Rico and NYC, paying his dues with bands like Batacumbele and Eddie Palmieri, Sánchez has now broken his hardbop mold. Much like Paquito D'Rivera and others, he is proving his musical vision is far-reaching and open to exploring new ideas, showing his credentials as a master saxophonist in a league all his own. (JV)