Poncho Sanchez is widely respected as one of the top American percussionists of our time. He performs frequently in venues varying in size from concert halls to local jazz festivals. His most recent CD, Do It!, features funk icon Tower of Power on two tracks.

On October 30th 1951 Poncho Sanchez was born youngest of eleven children in Laredo, Texas and raised in Norwalk, California. Sanchez was exposed to and influenced by two very different styles of music: Afro-Cuban music (mambo, son, cha-cha, rhumba, guaracha, salsa) by greats such as Tito Puente, and bebop jazz, including the works of Charlie Parker. Startign as a guitarist and vocalistm Sanchez went on to teach himself the flute, drums, and timbales before finally deciding to pursue conga-playing in high school.

Larry Coryell was born in Galvenston, TX. After trying out several other instruments including piano, he finally settled on the guitar in his teens, and absorbed the influences of Wes Montgomery, Chet Atkins and Chuck Berry. Larry moved to New York City in the mid 60s where he studied classical guitar and played with Chico Hamilton. He first gained recognition playing with Gary Burton’s quartet. His reputation in both jazz and rock grew as he later toured with Herbie Mann, rocker Jack Bruce, John McLaughlin Jimmy Webb, the 5th Dimension, Charles Mingus, Billy Cobham, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix and Chick Corea. With Randy Brecker, Coryell formed Eleventh House in 1974, which became the most influential fusion band of the era. Once Eleventh House disbanded, Larry continued to work with his own bands and the Brecker Brothers, and in the late 70s, toured with McLaughlin and Paco de Luca in a guitar trio.

A child prodigy, Kenny Werner was born in Brooklyn and joined a children's song and dance group at age four. At age 11, he recorded a single with a fifteen-piece orchestra and played stride piano on television. Still in high school, he studied at the Manhattan School of Music, later becoming a classical piano major. His interest in improvisation led him to the jazz program at the Berklee School of Music. He began recording in the late 1970s, appearing on Charles Mingus' "Something Like a Bird." In the 1980s, Werner toured with Archie Shepp and the Mel Lewis Orchestra, worked in duo formats with Rufus Reid, Ray Drummond, and Jaki Byard, and performed solo concerns in Europe and New York. Over the years, Kenny Werner has performed and/or recorded with such luminaries as Bob Brookmeyer, Ron Carter, Joe Williams, Chico Freeman, Sonny Fortune, Peter Erskine, John Abercrombie, Bobby McFerrin, Lee Konitz, Billy Hart, Marian McPartland, Joe Henderson, Tom Harrell, Gunther Schuller, Ed Blackwell, Paul Motian, John Scofield, Jack DeJohnette, Eddie Gomez, Dave Holland, Charlie Haden, Chris Potter, and Joe Lovano.