A drum solo by Antonio Sanchez, one of the most sought-after drummers of his generation. The four-time Grammy award winning artist describes the experience an "... experimental project in the sense that it is a complete departure from anything I've ever done in the past as a drummer, composer, producer and engineer. Art is a reflection of life so I took a look at what had been happening in the world, realized that a surprising level of anger, frustration and awareness had been growing in me due to the political situation in the United States. I also wanted to have something that represented my Mexican heritage in a very emphatic way at some point in the album.
Taking all these feelings and putting them into the creative process is always very cathartic and playing drums has always been a very meditative and healing ritual for me, so I wanted to develop this project starting with the instrument that has been with me since I can remember. The drum set. I found this project to be one of the most liberating endeavors I've ever set myself to do. Almost like having an alter ego. The Bad Hombre." Recorded in New York at Meridian Studios in October 2016, Bad Hombre contains approximately 55 minutes of music; all tracks written, arranged, produced and performed by Antonio Sanchez.
Born in Mexico City on November 1, 1971, Antonio Sanchéz started playing drums at the age of five and began performing professionally early in his teens. He pursued a degree in classical piano at the National Conservatory in Mexico and in 1993 moved to Boston to enroll at the Berklee College of Music, graduating magna cum laude in jazz studies. Since his move to New York City in 1999, Sanchéz has become one of the most sought-after drummers on the international jazz scene. He has performed and recorded with some of the biggest names in jazz, most prominently in the Pat Metheny trio alongside Christian McBride; the guitarist's larger group; and the reunion band with Metheny, Steve Swallow, and Gary Burton. Other leaders he has worked with include Chick Corea, Michael Brecker, Charlie Haden, Toots Thielemans, and Joshua Redman. His interest in education led Sanchéz to join the faculty at New York University in 2006. In addition to performing and teaching, he has conducted clinics and master classes, and played at drum festivals worldwide, including the Modern Drummer Festival Weekend, Zildjian Day, and Montreal Drum Festival. Sanchéz has been a featured cover artist on magazines like Modern Drummer, Musico Pro, Percussioni, and Drums & Percussion.
As a solo artist, he debuted in 2007 with Migration and followed up with Element a year later, with the concert album Live in New York at Jazz Standard appearing in 2010. In 2013 Sanchéz released his third studio album, New Life, featuring saxophonists David Binney and Donny McCaslin, and that year he also paired with pianist Abraham Barrera and bassist Aarón Cruz for Ocaso. Sanchéz garnered wide acclaim for his innovative soundtrack to director Alejandro G. Iñárritu's Academy Award-winning film Birdman in 2014. Although nominated for both Golden Globe and BAFTA awards, Sanchéz was controversially disqualified for an Academy Award for Best Original Score nomination due to the film using a large amount of existing classical music. Nonetheless, he took home the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Score and Satellite Award for Best Original Score. A year later, he returned with The Meridian Suite. He then joined guitarist Metheny for several albums before returning to solo work with his sixth album, 2017's Bad Hombre. Influenced by electronic music, Sanchéz recorded the album completely on his own in his home studio. ~ Michael G. Nastos
