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Children of Sanchez is the sixteenth overall album by jazz artist Chuck Mangione. It is also the soundtrack to the 1978 film The Children of Sanchez. Chuck Mangione won a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance for the title song, “Children of Sanchez”. The title track is sung by Don Potter.

Reception

Thanks to the Latin-inflected title track, Children of Sanchez became another huge hit for Chuck Mangione. The title song even earned him a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance, and serious jazz listeners will spot a problem with that award — it was for pop, not jazz. That, of course, is an accurate assessment of Mangione’s music, since there isn’t much improvisation on the album at all. Instead, there’s a selection of Spanish and Latin-flavored instrumentals, arranged as if to give the impression that the album is a song cycle. If so, it’s a song cycle/concept album that doesn’t go anywhere. Nevertheless, there’s enough pleasant music here to satisfy fans of his pop stylings ( Stephen Thomas Erlewine/AllMusic).

Track listing
All songs written by Chuck Mangione:

Disc One
1. “Children of Sanchez (Overture)” 14:09
2. “Lullabye” 3:52
3. “Fanfare” 1:09
4. “Pilgrimage, Pt. 1” 3:00
5. “Pilgrimage, Pt. 2” 2:41
6. “Consuelo’s Love Theme” 17:02
Disc Two
1. “Hot Consuelo” 4:04
2. “Death Scene” 4:44
3. “Market Place” 3:12
4. “Echano” 2:43
5. “Bellavia” 3:16
6. “Lullabye (Vocal Version)” 3:42
7. “Medley” 8:22
8. “B’bye” 8:30
9. “Children of Sanchez (Finale)” 3:06

Personnel
James Bradley Jr. – Drums
Dick Decker – French horn
Grant Geissman – Guitars
Chuck Mangione – Flugelhorn, electric and acoustic pianos
Charles Meeks – Bass guitar
Jerry Peel – French horn
Don Potter – Vocal
Phyllis Hyman – Vocal
George Stimpson – French horn
Jeff Tyzik – Trumpet, flugelhorn
Ron Leonard – cello
Chris Vadala – Clarinet, flutes, soprano sax, tenor sax
Brad Warnaar – French horn
Bill Reichenbach, Jr. – Bass Trombone
Kai Winding – Trombone
Mayo Tiana – Trombone
Dana Hughes – Trombone

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Released: 1978
Studios: Kendun Recorders (Burbank, CA)
Length: 83:39
Label: A&M
Producer: Chuck Mangione