David Sánchez’s Carib presents Tambó

For his night in our series devoted to solo projects by SFJAZZ Collective members, tenor saxophonist and composer David Sánchez brings his Carib ensemble to the stage, presenting the West Coast premiere of his new work, Tambó. 

Formed to record his 2019 album of the same name, Carib represents a deeply personal journey for Sánchez, and the GRAMMY-nominated debut recording was a trailblazing use of modern jazz to explore the kinship between the West African drum rhythms of Yuba, Calinda, and Sika and traditional music in Haiti, Carriacou, and his native Puerto Rico.  

Dedicated to the memory of Sánchez’s mentor, the late Nuyorican piano legend Eddie Palmieri, Tambó (drum) was inspired by a recent trip to Haiti and Puerto Rico and the chants and rhythms drawn from the *bomba* tradition he heard in Loíza and San Basilio de Palenque in Colombia. 

Since his early exposure with Dizzy Gillespie’s United Nations Orchestra, Sánchez has become one of the most celebrated instrumentalists in jazz, recording ten albums as a leader and winning a Latin GRAMMY Award for his 2004 orchestral session, Coral. Over a career full of highlights, he’s performed with a roster of greats including Charlie Haden, Eddie Palmieri, Roy Haynes, Tom Harrell, Roy Hargrove, and Pat Metheny, among others. 

In addition to Palmieri, Tambó is, in Sánchez’s words, “dedicated to the ancestors who live through us and inspire us with their spiritual strength.”