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Poncho Sanchez
Raise Your Hand
Release Date: 2007 05 22
Label: Concord Picante

Conguero Poncho Sanchez grew up on salsa and Latin jazz, but his musical influences also included large doses of Stax and Muscle Shoals R&B. So for his latest album, he decided to pay tribute to both traditions: the result is a strange but seriously fun jumble of soul, salsa, son and jazz. Gratefully, he generally avoids trying to fuse them all into a single hybrid musical style; instead, he jumps from one to the other. The album opens and closes with classic-style soul songs: "Raise Your Hand" and "Knock on Wood," both featuring singer Eddie Floyd, organist Booker T. Jones, and guitarist Steve Cropper. In between is a range of material that includes a brilliant straight-ahead salsa number featuring Andy Montañez titled "El Agua de Belen," the gorgeous "Amor con Amor," a very fine Maceo Parker showcase titled "Maceo's House" (which actually does blend soul and Latin influences, and carries it off nicely) and a couple of less compelling numbers as well. But even the nice-but-not-earthshaking "Gestation" offers plenty of fun, and there really is not a single track on this album that is anything less than thoroughly enjoyable. Highly recommended overall. Rick Anderson, All Music Guide

Tracks:

	Title	Composer	Time
1	Raise Your Hand	Cropper, Floyd, Isbell	3:49
2	Tropi Blue	Sanchez, Torres	5:07
3	Shotgun	Dewalt	3:55
4	Agua de Belen	Davidson	6:12
5	Rosarito	Torres	3:55
6	Maceo's House	Torres	5:52
7	Dondé Va Chichi?	Gutiérez	6:25
8	Gestation	Blake, Veraga	4:53
9	Amor Con Amor	Sanchez, Torres	5:50
10	Knock on Wood	Cropper, Floyd	3:33