Antonio Sánchez (born November 1, 1971) is a Mexican-American drummer and composer. He is best known for his work with jazz guitarist

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progr ...

and as a composer of the

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...

for the 2014 film '' Birdman''. The score earned him a nomination for the

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score is a Golden Globe Award presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications ...

and

BAFTA Award for Best Film Music This is a list of winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best Original Music, formerly known as the Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music, which is presented to film composers, given out by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts si ...

; he won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media, the

Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Score The Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Score (previously known as the Critics' Choice Award for Best Composer) is one of the Critics' Choice Movie Awards given to people working in the film industry by the Critics Choice Association. It was fi ...

, and the

Satellite Award for Best Original Score The Satellite Award for Best Original Score is an annual award given by the International Press Academy. Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Oscars and ...

Education

Sánchez was born in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

, and started playing drums at the age of five. By his teen years he had already begun playing professionally. He attained a degree in classical piano from the National Conservatory in 1993 and then moved to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, to study at

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

. After he graduated magna cum laude in jazz studies, Sánchez obtained a scholarship for a master's degree in jazz improvisation at Boston's

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on H ...

. He is the grandson of Mexican actor

Ignacio López Tarso Ignacio López López (born 15 January 1925), known professionally as Ignacio López Tarso, is a Mexican actor of stage, film and television. He has acted in about 50 films and appeared in documentaries and in one short feature. In 1973 he was g ...

Career

While Sánchez was still at the Conservatory in 1997, his teacher,

Danilo Pérez Danilo Pérez (born December 29, 1965) is a Panamanian pianist, composer, educator, and a social activist. His music is a blend of Panamanian roots with elements of Latin American folk music, jazz, European impressionism, African, and other music ...

, recommended him to Paquito D'Rivera for the drum chair in

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but a ...

's United Nations Orchestra, which led to him touring with the orchestra. Later in 1997, Perez invited Sánchez to be a part of his acoustic trio which resulted in extensive touring, and the recording of the

-nominated album ''Motherland''. The tour resulted in him being heard by legendary guitarist

who invited Sánchez to join the

Pat Metheny Group The Pat Metheny Group was an American jazz band founded in 1977. The core members of the group were guitarist, composer and bandleader Pat Metheny; and keyboardist and composer Lyle Mays, who was in the group at its inception. Other long-standi ...

as its drummer after a series of auditions. The group recorded two albums with Sánchez. The first one, '' Speaking of Now'', won a

for Best Contemporary Jazz Album in 2003. A DVD, under the same name, documenting the tour has been released. The second album, '' The Way Up'', was released in January 2005. Sánchez has been a part of various

quartet In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations o ...

s and trios under Metheny's direction. The Pat Metheny Trio (Metheny on

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

, Sánchez on

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

s, and

Christian McBride Christian McBride (born May 31, 1972) is an American jazz bassist, composer and arranger. He has appeared on more than 300 recordings as a sideman, and is an eight-time Grammy Award winner. McBride has performed and recorded with a number of j ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

) released ''

Day Trip A day trip is a visit to a tourist destination or visitor attraction from a person's home, hotel, or hostel in the morning, returning to the same lodging in the evening. The day trip is a form of recreational travel and leisure to a location tha ...

'' in January 2008 to wide acclaim among jazz critics. In 2012, he was the drummer on Pat Metheny's album ''

Unity Band ''Unity Band'' is a studio album by American jazz guitarist Pat Metheny along with saxophonist Chris Potter, bassist Ben Williams and drummer Antonio Sánchez. This is the first Metheny album featuring a tenor saxophonist in 32 years (since 1 ...

''. In 2006, Sánchez joined the faculty of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

(NYU). The next year, he recorded his first

solo album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

, ''

Migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

'', on

CAM Jazz CAM Jazz is an Italian jazz record label founded in 2000. It is part of group that also manages the labels CAM Jazz Presents, Black Saint/Soul Note, and DDQ (Dischi Della Quercia). The label's musicians have received several Grammy Award nominatio ...

. The album includes

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...

, Chris Potter, David Sánchez, and Scott Colley. ''All About Jazz'' called it "One of the best debuts of 2007." Sánchez said of the album: "I didn't want people to say this is a drummer's album...I wanted it to be something that could be from any instrumentalist. I thought in terms of music, not how many solos I got and if I blew enough chops or not. I wanted the music to be very melodic and accessible and with a lot of really good interplay." In 2010, Sánchez released his second solo album, '' Live in New York at Jazz Standard'', to positive reviews. The double live album was recorded at the Jazz Standard in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

after a U.S. tour of Antonio's band, which included

Miguel Zenón Miguel Zenón (born December 30, 1976) is a Puerto Rican alto saxophonist, composer, band leader, music producer, and educator. He is a multiple Grammy Award nominee, and the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a MacArthur Fellowship. He als ...

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B t ...

, David Sánchez on

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

, and Scott Colley on

acoustic bass guitar The acoustic bass guitar (sometimes shortened to acoustic bass or initialized ABG) is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to, though usually larger than a steel-string acoustic guitar. Like the traditional electric bass guitar ...

. The year 2013 marked the release of his third solo album. '' New Life'' was recorded in January 2012. It includes 8 original compositions and features

Thana Alexa Thana Alexa (born Thana Alexa Pavelić; born March 19, 1987) is an American jazz vocalist, composer, arranger and producer. Biography Early life Alexa's interest in music began at age three when she disappeared from a birthday party and was dis ...

on vocals,

David Binney David Binney (born August 2, 1961) is an American alto saxophonist and composer. Early life Binney was born in Miami, Florida, and was raised in Carpinteria, California. From his parents, who loved music, he was exposed to albums by John C ...

on alto saxophone,

Donny McCaslin Donald Paul McCaslin (born August 11, 1966) is an American jazz saxophonist. He has recorded over a dozen albums as a bandleader in addition to many sideman appearances, including on David Bowie's final studio album, '' Blackstar'' (2016). Early ...

on tenor saxophone,

John Escreet John Escreet (born 18 August 1984) is an English jazz pianist. Biography Escreet moved to New York in 2006. In 2008 he graduated from the Master’s Program at Manhattan School of Music, where he studied piano with Kenny Barron and Jason Moran ...

on piano and Matt Brewer on bass. All his solo albums have been released under the Cam Jazz label. In 2014, Sánchez composed the

for '' Birdman''. The

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' ...

was released on October 14, 2014. The score earned him nominations for the

, and other nominations; he won the

and

. However, he was disqualified to compete for the

Academy Award for Best Original Score The Academy Award for Best Original Score is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by t ...

, since the film also contained a significant amount of

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" al ...

. Sánchez's 2017 album, ''Bad Hombre,'' earned him a Grammy Nomination for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. Sánchez continued working with the Pat Metheny band in 2019 as they toured extensively and released an album of new material in 2020 entitled From This Place. Sánchez's 2022 album, ''SHIFT (Bad Hombre Vol. II),'' sees Sánchez joining forces with a diverse range of collaborators, including Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, Dave Matthews & Pat Metheny, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Meshell Ndegeocello, Kimbra, Lila Downs, Ana Tijoux, Becca Stevens, Silvana Estrada, MARO and Thana Alexa.

Equipment

Sánchez plays Yamaha drums, Remo drumheads, and

Zildjian :''Zildjian leads here. For people with the surname, see Zildjian (disambiguation)'' The Avedis Zildjian Company, simply known as Zildjian (), is a musical instrument manufacturer specializing in cymbals and other percussion instruments. Founded ...

cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...

s and sticks, as well as LP Percussion exclusively.

Discography

As leader

* ''

'' (

, 2007) * '' Live in New York at Jazz Standard'' (CAM Jazz, 2010) * '' New Life'' (CAM Jazz, 2013) * '' Birdman'' (Milan, 2014) * '' Three Times Three'' (CAM Jazz, 2015) * ''

The Meridian Suite ''The Meridian Suite'' is an album by jazz drummer Antonio Sánchez (drummer), Antonio Sánchez which was released by CAM Jazz in 2015. Reception The ''PopMatters'' review by John Garrett stated "Sánchez doesn't use the ''Meridian Suite'' to sho ...

'' (CAM Jazz, 2015) * '' Bad Hombre'' (CAM Jazz, 2017) * '' Lines in the Sand'' (CAM Jazz, 2019) * '' SHIFT (Bad Hombre Vol. II)'' (Warner Music, 2022)

As sideman

With

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of M ...

* ''

Wide Angles ''Wide Angles'' is an album by saxophonist Michael Brecker that won the Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album in 2004. Track listing Personnel Musicians * Michael Brecker – tenor saxophone, arranger * John Patitucci – bass * ...

'' ( Verve, 2003) With

Dewa Budjana I Dewa Gede Budjana (born August 30, 1963) is an Indonesian guitarist, songwriter and composer. He is the lead guitarist and songwriter of the band Gigi. Budjana's style changed dramatically to jazz as he got to know John McLaughlin, Pat Met ...

* ''Hasta Karma'' ( Moonjune, 2015) With

Gary Burton Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American jazz vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused him to be h ...

* '' Quartet Live'' (

Concord Jazz Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the ...

, 2009) * '' Common Ground'' (

Mack Avenue Mack Avenue Records is an independent record label in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. Background Mack Avenue was founded in 1999 by Gretchen Carhartt Valade, a jazz fan and chair of the American apparel company Carhartt. The company is a sponsor ...

, 2011) * '' Guided Tour'' (Mack Avenue, 2013) With Avishai Cohen * ''Unity'' ( Stretch, 2001) With Scott Colley *'' Architect of the Silent Moment'' (CAM Jazz, 2005

007 The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

With

* ''Dr. Joe'' (Stretch, 2008) With

Bendik Hofseth Bendik Hofseth (born 19 October 1962, in Oslo) is a Norwegian jazz musician, who plays the saxophone and sings. He is also a bandleader, and arranges and composes music. Career When Bendik Hofseth went to New York in 1987, and replaced the wor ...

* ''XI'' (Grappa, 2009) With

* '' Speaking of Now'' (

Nonesuch __NOTOC__ Nonesuch may refer to: Plants * '' Lychnis chalcedonica'', a wildflower * ''Medicago lupulina'', a wildflower Places and structures *Nonesuch, Kentucky *Nonesuch Island, Bermuda *Nonesuch Mine, Michigan *Nonesuch Palace, mis-spelling of ...

, 2002) * '' The Way Up'' (Nonesuch, 2005) * ''

'' (Nonesuch, 2008) * '' Tokyo Day Trip'' (Nonesuch, 2008) * ''

'' (Nonesuch, 2012) * '' Tap: Book of Angels Volume 20'' (

Tzadik Tzadik ( he, צַדִּיק , "righteous ne, also ''zadik'', ''ṣaddîq'' or ''sadiq''; pl. ''tzadikim'' ''ṣadiqim'') is a title in Judaism given to people considered righteous, such as biblical figures and later spiritual masters. Th ...

/Nonesuch, 2013) * '' Kin (<-->)'' (Nonesuch, 2014) * '' The Unity Sessions'' (Nonesuch, 2016) * '' From This Place'' (Nonesuch, 2020) With

Enrico Pieranunzi Enrico Pieranunzi (born 5 December 1949) is an Italian jazz pianist. He combines classical technique with jazz. Biography The son of Renata Brillantini and Alvaro Pieranunzi, Enrico Pieranunzi was encouraged to study music at a young age. Hi ...

* ''Latin Jazz Quintet Live at Birdland'' (Cam Jazz, 2010) * ''Permutation'' (Cam Jazz, 2012) * ''Stories'' (Cam Jazz, 2014)

References

External links

Official site
*
Antonio Sanchez Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2008)