David Sanchez

David Sanchez (b.9/3/68), a native of Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, was enchanted by Afro-Cuban danza and other traditional Latin music at the age of eight; so, he picked up the conga. Later, after hearing records by Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Billie Holiday, he turned to jazz and the tenor saxophone at 12. After high school Sanchez moved to New York to attend Rutgers University, where he studied with Ted Dunbar, John Purcell, and Kenny Barron. He soon began freelancing in New York with the city's top Latin players, including Paquito D'Rivera and Claudio Roditi, soon joining Dizzy Gillespie's United Nations Orchestra. Since then he has recorded with Slide Hampton, Kenny Drew Jr., and Danilo Perez; he's also led his own sessions for Columbia, featuring his fusion of Afro-Cuban and bebop influences.