Harmonic Combo

David Torres, who has been the pianist, musical director and chief arranger in conga drummer Poncho Sanchez’s superb Latin jazz band for a decade, fell in love with harmony as a youth.

When most kids were taking apart (and maybe putting back together) watches or radios, the Whittier-born Torres was listening intently to the inner parts of arrangements of marches such as “Stars and Stripes Forever” and “Washington Post.”

“I’d listen to the piccolos, the trombones, all those inside lines,” said Torres, who plays with Sanchez on Sunday at La Ve Lee in Studio City. “That got me listening to parts other than the melody.”

He laughed as he remembered how he thought those pieces were Mexican songs “because my grandmother had the radio on when she’d say prayers before going to bed,” and stations played those tunes as sign-offs.

After he graduated from Garfield High, Torres--who started on trumpet at age 7 and began piano at 9--learned more by copying arrangements from recordings by such jazz-rock bands as Dreams and Blood, Sweat and Tears. Then, at the Berklee College of Music in Boston from 1975-77, he studied arranging formally with such renowned teachers as John LaPorta.

These days, Torres works hand in hand with Sanchez, who doesn’t read music, in crafting the works the band offers and has recorded on such recent Concord Picante CDs as “Conga Blue” and “Freedom Sound.”

“Poncho has a lot of ideas, like for the melody or the rhythm form, which he sings to me and I write out,” said Torres, 45. “And I write a lot of tunes. Poncho gives me a lot of freedom, because we both enjoy the same things, like the Art Blakey horn sound.”

Torres likes arranging Sanchez’s three-horn section, made up of Sal Cracchiolo on trumpet, Fernando Torres on trombone and Scott Martin, saxes and flutes. “Three horns makes you think, there’s so many possibilities,” Torres said.

Then there’s the thrill of being in a Latin rhythm section, here with Sanchez, Jose “Papo” Rodriguez and Ramon Banda, who collectively play congas, bongos, timbales and more. Torres is unusual for a Hispanic in that he came to Latin music later than to jazz. And although he has certainly absorbed a good deal, he said he’s still learning.

“That’s exciting,” he said. “Since I’ve always been more of a harmonic and melodic person, this group keeps me on my toes, rhythmically.”

* David Torres appears with Poncho Sanchez’s Latin jazz band Sunday, 9:30 and 11:30 p.m., at La Ve Lee, 12514 Ventura Boulevard, Studio City. $10 cover, two drink minimum.

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Pure Power: Rebecca Parris has the kind of vocal chops even the vets gasp over. I remember the wonderful Stephanie Haynes, sitting in the now-defunct Bjlauzezs in Sherman Oaks, bemoaning that she couldn’t sing like the Boston-based Parris.

Thank goodness, Haynes--who, by the way, appears Saturday, 8 p.m. to midnight at Ca’ Del Sole (4100 N. Cahuenga Blvd., North Hollywood; no cover, no minimum; [818] 985-4669)--sings in her own inimitable, swinging manner. But I could see what she meant. The rightly acclaimed Parris, who appears Sunday, 8 p.m., at the Moonlight (13730 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks; no cover, $25 minimum; [818] 788-2000), can really belt out a tune but manages to keep that high-power style artistic, not showy. On the flip side, this ace chanteuse can turn down the volume and deliver a ballad with consummate nuance. To top it all off, she knows how to swing. All in all, a fine musical package.

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Coffee House Jazz: Common Grounds pushes java and jazz. Owner Paul Solomon keeps a variety of improvised music on tap at his cozy Northridge establishment (9250 Reseda Blvd., Northridge; no cover, $2.50 minimum purchase; [818] 882-3666). Mostly it’s local artists, like solid-swinging sax man Chuck Johnson, who’s there Sunday; drummer Ron Manaog and guitarist Colin Mandel, Monday. All shows start at 8 p.m.