David Sánchez
- info
- May 22
- 2 min read
//Saxophonist and composer
Photo: Daniela Murillo
David Sánchez is a Puerto Rican saxophonist and composer, GRAMMY Award winner, and internationally recognized for his innovative exploration of Afro-diasporic rhythms and his virtuosity on the saxophone. He has received six Grammy nominations and four Latin Grammy nominations, winning two, and has collaborated since the beginning of his career with iconic artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Eddie Palmieri, and Roberto Roena.
Sánchez has developed a remarkable 37-year career that began in Puerto Rico and was forged with the rhythms of bomba, plena, salsa, and other Caribbean music. These roots not only sparked his lifelong musical curiosity, but also laid the foundation for his work, manifested in ten albums, beginning with “The Departure.” His album “Melaza” has influenced new generations of musicians and was included in “Playing Changes: Jazz for the New Century: The 129 Essential Albums of the 21st Century (So Far)” by Nate Chinen, jazz writer for The New York Times. The album Coral won a Latin Grammy in 2004, and Carib, his most recent work, nominated for a Grammy in 2020, was inspired by Haitian popular music and Afro-Puerto Rican rhythms.
In addition to his solo work, David Sánchez is a member of the SFJazz Collective, a prestigious octet representing the SFJAZZ institution that has stood out over the last decade for its innovative compositions. As an educator, David has made a significant impact by helping to found the Roots, Jazz, and American Music (RJAM) program at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he is currently on the faculty. He was also Artist in Residence at the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music and collaborates with renowned institutions such as Berklee College of Music, the Manhattan School of Music, Indiana University, among others.
During his residency at El Boga, after several trips to San Basilio de Palenque since 2019, David Sánchez explores the sonic and cultural bridges between Loíza, Puerto Rico, and San Basilio de Palenque, Colombia, weaving rhythms such as bomba and lumbalú into a contemporary and deeply spiritual proposal. CARIB is not only a celebration of the drum and its ancestral echoes: it is a musical act of decolonization and memory.
Contact
@davidsanchezmusic
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