THERE CAN'T BE many conga players better connected than Poncho Sanchez. Band leaders who have called on his services range from Cal Tjader, with whom he made his reputation, to Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, Carlos Santana and too many others to list. That's quite a sideman's CV, but in his own right he's one of the most successful bandleaders in Latin jazz, with 21 albums behind him. He first struck out on his own in 1980, while still working for vibraphonist Tjader, with whom he played for seven years. His solo work won his boss' approval, and shortly before Tjader died he recommended his protege to the head of his record label, Concord. Sanchez was signed to Concord Picante, the label's Latin imprint, and he never looked back. The Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band are still under contract to the same record company. Tjader died in 1982 while on tour in the Philippines and his recommendation has been seen as passing the torch to Sanchez. If that was what he intended then he chose a worthy successor. Both men unquestionably had Afro-Cuban rhythms in their blood, but in both cases they got there by transfusion. Tjader was a midwestern American of Swedish descent who became fascinated by the mambo beat in the early 1950s. Sanchez was born in Texas of Mexican descent and grew up in Los Angeles, listening not so much to Mexican music as to the sounds of Cuba, Puerto Rico and New York City played by Tito Puente, Machito, Mongo Santamaria and Tito Rodriguez on West Coast radio. He felt naturally attuned to the music. Although he started out as a singer - having failed an audition as a guitarist for an R&B band - the first time he hit a set of congas he knew he'd found his vocation. 'Latin jazz is American music,' he has said. 'Latin jazz was born in the United States with Dizzy Gillespie and Chano Pozo in the 1940s. If you were born in the USA, that's your music. I was born in the USA, so Latin jazz is my music and I'm proud of that'. He has much to be proud of. Downbeat magazine has called the Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band 'one of the tightest Latin jazz groups in the world' and in 1999 their Latin Soul album picked up a Grammy. Not surprisingly, it was a live recording - Sanchez's third - that hit the jackpot. Capturing sets at the Conga Room in LA and at Yoshi's Nitespot in Oakland, beginning with his theme tune, El Conguero, Sanchez led the band through blistering versions of Santamaria's hit Watermelon Man and Eddie Cano's classic Ican along with an irresistibly danceable set of other covers and originals. Although the recording captured much of the atmosphere of the band's famously hot live act, the visual impact of the group was left to the imagination of those who hadn't seen them live, until last year when a long-awaited concert DVD recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival was released. Poncho at Montreux revisits some of the band's most popular live showpieces, including a couple of R&B standards in Ray Charles' One Mint Julep and James Brown's Out of Sight, in which the other music Sanchez had listened to in his youth re-emerged. His interpretation of One Mint Julep first turned up on 2003's Out of Sight album, on which Sanchez and the band turned in some Latin soul that owed as much to Charles, Brown and the Memphis sound of the 60s as to the musicians' shared Afro-Cuban heritage. The late Brother Ray came into the studio to sing it - Billy Preston recreated the organ part - and also sang and contributed some new lyrics to his own Mary Ann. Others helping out were Sam Moore of Sam and Dave and James Brown Band veterans saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis and trombonist Fred Wesley. From the beginning, Sanchez has been happy to have guest artists on his recordings, and the range reflects the remarkable number of styles he feels can benefit from a touch of his band's Latin magic. Chick Corea graced Latin Spirits as a guest on the title track (which he composed for the album) and Wayne Shorter's Ju Ju; Jazz trumpeters Terence Blanchard and Freddie Hubbard turned up on Soul of the Conga and Cambios, respectively; Dianne Reeves contributed vocals to three tracks on Afro Cuban Fantasy; Crusaders saxophonist Wilton Felder came in to blow on Freedom Sound; Eddie Harris played tenor on Para Todos; and - most excitingly for Sanchez - Mongo Santamaria set up his congas next to his for Conga Blue. Of his years with Tjader - to whom he dedicated his Soul Sauce album - Sanchez has said: 'Mongo had always been my favourite conga drummer, so I approached it in the way that Mongo would have. He played strong and hard and very seriously. I went into every gig with Cal with that in mind'. Other conga drummers now probably think the same thing about Poncho Sanchez, and although the Cultural Centre Concert Hall is less amenable to dancing in the aisles than other venues this incendiary band has played, it's safe to assume the audience is in for a hot time. It should be quite a party. Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band, Mar 17-18, Cultural Centre Concert Hall, TST, $150, $250, $350, $450. Inquiries 2734 9009