Antonio Sanchez
When one thinks of creativity, musicality, passion, and consistent challenge, the name of drummer Antonio Sanchez comes to mind. Since his arrival on the major jazz scene in 1997 with pianist Danilo Perez, Antonio has been known for his supreme feeling and good taste, and as one of the most in demand jazz drummers in the world. Sanchez has lent his unmistakeable beat to recordings from the likes of vocalist Luciana Souza, pianist Chick Corea, vibraphonist Gary Burton, and the late tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker, among many others.
He is most known for his decade plus continuing association with Pat Metheny, sharing the distinction of being the only drummer the guitarist has had for multiple projects with a wide range of different groups. Sanchez is one of the strongest composers in jazz today, something made abundantly clear with the release of 2013’s New Life featuring some of New York’s finest musicians British born pianist John Escreet, bassist Matt Brewer, saxophonists Dave Binney, Donny McCaslin and vocalist Thana Alexa. The album is Sanchez’ most memorable writing to date showcasing his composition skills honed through his study of piano at the National Conservatory in his native Mexico City, his studies at the Berklee College of Music (1993-1995)where he graduated magna cum laude, before advancing his education in jazz improvisation at the New England Conservatory. He has been a jazz educator at NYU, also lending his very accessible teaching style to various drum clinics around the world. Recently he received the 2014 Echo award for best drummer and the New Life album, in addition to receiving 5 Grammies in his career.
Currently, Sanchez is in the midst of a creative upswing. Late 2014 saw the international release of Three Times Three (CamJazz) his fourth leader recording consisting of three trios with bassists John Patitucci, Matt Brewer or Christian McBride, pianist Brad Mehldau and tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano. Additionally, the original score for Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s film Birdman was just recently completed. The solo drum score introduces some new production techniques for the drummer, most notably multiple drum overdubs, and the music has won multiple awards already, including just recently the Vegas Film Critics award. The end of the year saw the completion of Metheny’s Kin world tour and Antonio just finished recording his new album with his Migration band, The Meridian Suite due out on CamJazz next summer.
I have been the staff writer for the New York Jazz Workshop School of Music blog in midtown Manhattan since 2014, and that has broadened my freelance writing skills considerably. In addition to writing artist bios, and articles of interest that pertain to the mission of the school, I have interviewed (in print on the site) legendary guitarist and NEA Jazz Master Pat Metheny, trumpeter Cuong Vu, and in 2015 embarked on producing a podcast for the school where I have achieved my dream and interviewed jazz giants such as Dave Liebman, Lenny White, rising talents like Thana Alexa, Logan Richardson, guitarist and bassist Brian Kastan, among others. I also work on SEO optimization for the blog. In 2015 I started my blog Jazz Views with CJ Shearn, and have written liner notes for 5 time Grammy winner and Oscar and Golden Globe nominee, Antonio Sanchez (for his latest recording “Channels of Energy”) and guitarist Gene Ess for his latest recording, scheduled to be released in November 2018.
My passion for jazz music is what drives me, which is an interest I’ve had since I can remember. I initially began writing about jazz at the age of 13 for my high school newspaper, and in my late teens contributed occasionally to jazzreview.com. In college I was member of the Harpur Jazz Project which brought jazz acts to campus. I’ve also contributed in the past to AllAboutJazz where I was mentored by John Kelman. I decided to focus on my passion for jazz music journalism after a job in the social services field as a caseworker went south, and as a person with a physical disability I work on going against the odds, living independently and having accomplished things people had said I’d never do.