Making It Happen: Angelica Sanchez Nonet in Springfield

There’s a reason why large ensembles are few and far between: money, or the lack thereof. There are plenty of bandleaders with an ample supply of ambition, talent and vision, and the number of musicians who can read down complicated charts and breathe life into a printed score is large and growing. But moving big bands of musicians around, and finding organizations with the resources to pay them, is difficult in today’s jazz world. Angelica Sanchez, whose Nonet wowed 65 patrons at the Community Music School of Springfield on October 14, is familiar with the hurdles. Yet thanks to a generous donor and the deep musical relationships she’s cultivated over the years, she made it happen. Their tour included concerts in New York (Jazz Gallery) and New Haven (Firehouse 12), followed by a day in a NY recording studio.

The world premiere of nine new pieces by Sanchez was actualized by Thomas Heberer (trumpet), Kenny Warren (cornet), Ben Goldberg (contralto clarinet), Hery Paz (tenor sax, flute), Michael Attias (alto sax), Ben Davis (cello), John Hébert (bass), Sam Ospavot (drums), and Sanchez (piano). With two exceptions, this was the same band that performed at the UMass Magic Triangle Jazz Series in 2018, and recorded Nighttime Creatures (Pyroclastic) in 2021. (In Springfield, Paz replaced Chris Speed and Davis replaced Omar Tamez.) Sanchez was so committed to these particular musicians, she shouldered the expense of bringing in Ospavot from Finland, and Goldberg and Davis from the Bay area.

Like her previous Nonet release - voted one of the year’s best by Downbeat - her latest effort was full of dense, unexpected voicings, surprising rhythmic twists, and arresting melodic invention. As with her piano playing, these compositions avoided clichés and stock jazz conventions, instead weaving waves of kaleidoscopic fragments into compelling, fully formed statements. Sanchez writes for individuals, not instruments, and she took full advantage of the considerable talent at her disposal.

The 54 year old Arizona-born pianist has a complicated history with academia. She decided to learn the music by playing professionally, and amassed a ton of experience performing and recording under her own name with masters like Tony Malaby, Tom Rainey, Rob Mazurek, Chad Taylor and Wadada Leo Smith. In her late 30s, she enrolled at William Patterson University, working with Harold Mabern and Cecil Bridgewater, among others, and in short order earned a BA and a Masters in Arranging. She is now a tenured professor at Bard College, where she coaches students how to teach themselves and build a language. “I can’t teach you how to play, I’m not going to tell you what to play,” Sanchez told Spotlight On last year. “If someone tells you there is only one way to play something, get another teacher.”

She has certainly built a unique language. The compositions we heard on Wednesday, some of which were communicated to the musicians via graphic scores, came from research into her personal history as a Mexican-American woman of Yaqui descent. One piece, “Where the Surem Live”, draws inspiration from the surem, ancestral spirits of the Yaqui people who foretold the arrival of a repressive new religion. The band had one full day rehearsal at the Community Music School, where they encountered the music for the first time. Having relationships and familiarity with musicians is critical to being able to transmit and absorb this amount of complex music in a condensed time frame. Having experienced, professional musicians in the band is also paramount.

After the rehearsal, the band gathered at our house for food and fellowship. It was great to see Ben Davis again, years after he moved from Western Massachusetts to Berkeley, CA. In fact, everyone but Davis and Paz, who was taking a night off from his Broadway work with “Buena Vista Social Club”, had performed under the Jazz Shares and/or Magic Triangle banner. Hébert, who is always an animating and stabilizing presence, will be back in the area on November 7, performing with Marty Ehrlich’s Rites Quartet, and again in mid-March working with DoYeon Kim’s ensemble.

Over the years, Angelica Sanchez has become a dear friend, and an artistic collaborator with violinist and vocalist Terry Jenoure and Jazz Shares’ Vice President Priscilla Maria Page. We visit her in the Hudson Valley each year, and she returns the favor by coming to our Valley on an annual basis.

As her writing and arranging chops get stronger and stronger, I expect Sanchez will want to continue to work with large ensembles.  As her vision and stature grows, I hope she’ll be able to continue to harness the resources to make that a reality.