Percussive genius in demand
Sanchez brings film-inspiring sound to Granville Island
When Antonio Sanchez’s gamechanging soundtrack for the fourtimes Oscar-winning film Birdman: Or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance was disqualified for not being exactly a “score,” appeals were launched by the drummer, director Alejandro G. Inarritu and Fox Music. The protests were unsuccessful.
That didn’t stop the organizers of the massive Bonnaroo Festival from booking Sanchez to perform the soundtrack live to a screening of the movie for mesmerized fans.
“Let bygones be bygones and move beyond it,” says Sanchez, who appears with his group Migration at the TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival. “Most important for me was that it was a rewarding experience to improvise and react the way I normally do to other musicians on stage while watching rough edits of Alejandro’s marvellous film and coming up with results that people were excited about.”
The exacting chops that the Mexican musician brings to everything he does has made him one of the most in-demand sidemen for jazz heavy-hitters such as the late bassist Charlie Haden and Chick Corea.
Guitarist Pat Metheny employs Sanchez in his trio with bassist Christian McBride, his large band and his reunion band with bassist Steve Swallow and vibes ace Gary Burton. Besides his numerous sessions, the drummer has multiple releases with Migration.
The quartet he leads featuring pianist John Escreet, bassist Matt Brewer and new recruit (Vancouver-born and raised) saxophonist Seamus Blake released The Meridian Suite (CAM Jazz) inspired by how longitude and latitude layout our universe in early June.
“Depending on timing, we sometimes can’t perform the Meridian Suite because it is an all or nothing thing,” he says.
“But my plan for Vancouver is to play it all. Since Seamus came into the band with one of the biggest and fullest tenor sounds I’ve ever heard, I know now as a composer that I can throw anything at all at them and have no limitations.”
Sanchez himself says his career developed out of pushing past limitations — personal or perceived.
“I began as a rock drummer playing classic rock like Led Zeppelin, the Stones, The Who and all these great musicians my mother listened to and then came around to jazz,” he says. “My first few albums were about proving myself as a jazz musician with very modern, very improvised pieces. With this configuration of the group, at this stage in my career, I am bringing in everything.”
The one thing Sanchez doesn’t bring is Latin jazz.
The instant and incorrect assumption is his last name means he leads a combo that plays cumbia or whatever. His expansive and cinematic compositions are certainly heavy on rhythm but sans salsa.
“That has been a huge challenge because I can play Latin jazz, but that’s not really my thing,” says Sanchez. “That is why I have chosen to work with musicians like Metheny, Corea, Michael Brecker who don’t have preconceived notions and go where they want. The key thing is I want to attain that cinematic aspect in my music, to make you see things, to be evocative. There is no fast without slow, no loud without quiet — it’s all about contrast and the space between.”
Sanchez’s latest film composition is for a Miles Davis film involving actor Don Cheadle.