ANTONIO SANCHEZ IS NOT THE FIRST DRUMMER TO USE JAZZ TO CONVEY A SOCIO-POLITICAL MESSAGE. BACK IN 1960 AND 1960, MAX ROACH RELEASED A PAIR OF ALBUMS (WE INSIST! AND PERCUSSION BITTER SWEET) THAT WERE BOLD CIVIL RIGHTS STATEMENTS.
SANCHEZ HAS TAKEN BOTH ROACHES DRUMSTICKS AND BATON TO BRING TO FOCUS THE PRESENT IMMIGRATION SITUATION. WITH HIS ENSEMBLE MIGRATION, HE HAS CREATED MUSIC THAT MELDS SOPHISTICATED YET URGENT MELODIES AND RHYTHMS WITH LYRICS AND VOICES THAT REFLECT THE VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE TREATMENT OF IMMIGRANTS, HERE BOTH LEGALLY AND ILLEGALLY.
CATCHING HIM IN CONCERT RECENTLY, IT WAS INSPIRING TO HERE THIS US CITIZEN SPEAK WITH PRIDE ABOUT BECOMING A MEMBER OF THIS GREAT COUNTRY, BUT ALSO FEELING INSPIRED TO SPEAK ABOUT INJUSTICES THAT HE OBSERVES.
WE HAD A CHANCE TO CHAT WITH MR. SANCHEZ ABOUT HIS OWN BAND, HIS TENURE WITH PAT METHENY AS WELL AS HIS MUSINGS ON THE JOY OF BEING MARRIED TO A MEMBER OF THE BAND.
YOU WERE IN DIZZY GILLESPIE’S BIG BAND WITH PACQUITO D’RIVERA. WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THAT EXPERIENCE?
When I had joined the orchestra, Dizzy had already passed away, and Pacquito D’Rivera was the leader at that point in 1997.
It was my first “big” gig and first European tour. It was amazing to be around great musicians travelling around the world. Pacquito is an amazing musician and an incredible human being; it was a great way for me to get started on touring for my own career.
He taught me by example. I could see how “together” he was and how he could communicate with audiences all over the world, how charismatic he was and really wanted the band to be super orderly, well rehearsed and prepared so he didn’t have to worry about anyone on stage.
I remember the very first gig that we did at the Blues Alley in DC. I was so scared, and after the first couple of tunes everything was going well and I was thinking “I’ve got this” and I started relaxing a little too much. He yelled out something in the middle of a tune, and the whole band switched to another groove and I got lost and didn’t know what to do.
He just started staring at me and the bass player, and started stomping his foot really hard on the ground to create a “One” beat. I was mortified; I was sure I was going to get fired on the spot.
After the set I went and hid; I didn’t want to see anybody. I came out and started apologizing to people.
They were saying “What do you mean?” I asked, “Didn’t you notice?”
Of course they noticed, but they made me feel like it was nothing, letting me know that everyone messes up at some point, so don’t worry about it. They made me feel welcome.
***********
“Somebody with a lot of chops can impress me for the first 20 seconds, but if there’s nothing else I get upset. It gives drums and drummers a bad name”
***********
YOU TOOK LESSONS FROM DANILO PEREZ. WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST THING HE TRIED TO TEACH YOU?
The biggest thing I learned was to get inside of the music and interact with the other members of the band.
As a drummer in a big band, you have to kind of steer a big truck. In Danilo’s case with a trio, it was like driving a Ferrari; you have to be ready for anything, as it can go anywhere.
I was yet not at that level of being able to listen to absolutely everything that was happening and able to be interacting at that highest level, like a conversation.
The first months were so tough as I was not at that level, but we kept at it and after awhile we had a great rapport.
HOW DID YOU LINK UP WITH PAT METHENY?
Pat found me when I was playing with Danilo in Turin at their jazz festival. Pat was with his trio of Bill Stewart and Larry Grenadier, and they played before us. Pat likes to usually open.
He was having dinner backstage, and he could hear us. I was playing with a full jazz kit, with timbales, congas, cowbells and bongos. We were playing a lot of Latin jazz, and I was playing a crazy combination of percussion and drums.
The promoter went to Pat and asked him if he liked our band. He said yes, that he really liked the way the percussionist and drummer played together.
When the promoter told him it was just one guy, Pat stood up and went to the side of the stage to check me out. That’s when I started to be on his radar.
***********
“(Pat’s) work ethic is unbelievable. I’ve never seen anybody work so hard and focus with such authority at whatever we’re doing. I really admire that, and it rubbed off on me”
***********
WHEN YOU JOINED PAT’S BAND, WERE THERE ANY MAJOR INSTRUCTIONS OR A LEARNING CURVE?
Yes; it was like entering a different world of music. Pat, depending on the personnel in the band that he has will develop and have their own lexicon. It’s a very specific thing that they do, and they’d been doing it for a long time.
I was aiming to please; I wanted to play, but it was not yet in my dna at that point. It took a little while; everything I played sounded a little weird to them as they were used to playing to Paul Wertico for so many years. Even if I played the same songs, my drums sounded different, my touch and my feel was different, so it took awhile for them to get used to what I was doing, and it took me awhile to learn all of the little intricacies of this new language that I was trying to speak.
Slowly but surely after a few months it started fitting and it became really incredible.
YOU DID A DUET WITH METHENY AT UCLA THAT WAS LIKE A COMBINATION OF A CONVERSATION AND A JAI-ALAI TOURNAMENT
We’re going on year 18, so the level of interaction is where we can read each other’s thoughts at this point. When we do those duets it’s one of my favorite parts of the set.
***********
“(Pat Metheny’s bands) will develop and have their own lexicon. It’s a very specific thing that they do, and they’d been doing it for a long time…He’s a true conceptualist of music”
***********
WHAT IS THERE ABOUT PAT METHENY THAT FANS MAY NOT KNOW OR APPRECIATE?
His work ethic is unbelievable. I’ve never seen anybody work so hard and focus with such authority at whatever we’re doing. I really admire that, and it rubbed off on me; how focused he is, and how patient he is, sometimes to a fault, and he’d be the first one to tell you that.
Because of that OCD nature, and a lot of organized people have that, there’s a justification of what he wants and what he is visualizing. He’s a true conceptualist of music.
It’s a different musical world, but at the same time it’s somewhat familiar because I have been playing “straight 8th” music for most of my life. I didn’t come into swing, bebop and straight-ahead until way later.
I grew up playing rock, fusion and Latin jazz, which are all straight 8th notes as a base. Pat told me that’s why I work well in his context. I was not a jazz guy trying to play his thing. I was more familiar with his music just because of what I had been playing.
WHAT IS YOUR PET PEEVE WITH DRUMMERS?
When they show off. A lack of basic musicality and a lack of storytelling; that just turns me off.
Somebody with a lot of chops can impress me for the first 20 seconds, but if there’s nothing else I get upset. It gives drums and drummers a bad name.
It can be stereotypical, where drumming is more of an Olympic event than a musical instrument.
WHEN YOU TEACH, WHAT DO YOU EMPHASIZE TO YOUR STUDENTS?
How to develop a story and extract as much expression out of the instrument, with dynamics, phrasing and space.
All of those things are really important, as well as really listening to the other people in the band. It’s so easy to get caught up in what you’re doing that you stop listening to everybody else, even though you’re playing with them at the same time. It takes a mindset to put yourself after, and listen to everyone else first.
WHAT DRUMMER, PAST OR PRESENT, WOULD YOU PAY $!000 TO SEE?
Tony Williams with Miles. I saw Buddy Rich when I was little, at a jazz festival. I didn’t know who he was, so I wish I could see him again. I would have loved to have seen Elvin Jones with John Coltane.
YOUR BAND ALSO INCLUDES YOUR WIFE, THANA ALEXA, AS VOCALIST. HOW DID YOU TWO MEET?
I met her before she was in my band. I was playing with a man who was the “Croatian Frank Sinatra” named Oliver Dragojevic (who just recently passed away). I did this concert that I was invited to play on at Carnegie Hall in 2009. Thana was in the audience, because all Croatians from the Diaspora were there.
I didn’t meet her that night, but she saw me and knew that I played with Pat Metheny, and her dad really liked Pat. She sent me a message on MySpace; we got together for a coffee and really hit it off.
It took awhile for us to get together, as we’re both so busy.
I never really heard her sing until way after we had been going out. She was very self-conscious about singing in front of me, as she knew I had been playing with other artists, and had just gotten off from touring with Dianna Reeves.
When I finally heard her, I thought “Oh, my!” but I never really thought of her being in the band. But, slowly and surely, I’d start writing something for the band and would think “her voice would sound so nice on this” and I’d ask her to sing, and she’d elevate it to a different level. I eventually started hearing her voice on everything I’d write for this band.
YOU’RE TAKING A CHANCE WHEN YOU DATE SOMEONE IN THE BAND!
(laughs) This is true! This far, I must say, it has paid off. (laughs)
YOU TWO HAVE SOME INTERESTING DYNAMICS, LATIN VS MEDITERRANEAN, MUSICAL, AND THEN THERE’S MARRIAGE! THAT’S LIKE KNOWING THREE DIFFERENT PEOPLE
Thankfully it’s just one person (laughs)
It’s one of those things where I’ve had relationships in the past where I’d always be working on it and putting my best foot forward, but when I met Thana everything seemed effortless. I now understand what a relationship is supposed to be like, and I appreciate how rare it is to happen.
DO YOU THINK THE SIMILAR CULTURAL EMPHASIS ON FAMILY AND FOOD HELPS?
Yes, I think the similar lifestyles, and the fact that she lived in Europe for quite awhile and learned to appreciate art and literature. Also, her parents are very intelligent and love culture, and this made it easy for all of us to get along.
***********
“There’s a tune in our set where Thana and I do a little duet introduction, and it’s cool to be interacting that way with your spouse”
***********
YOU’VE PLAYED FOR A NUMBER OF VOCALISTS, LIKE DIANNA REEVES, JANE MONHEIT AND YOUR WIFE. DO YOU HAVE TO CHANGE MUSICAL GEARS FOR SINGERS?
Definitely, as you are accompanying the singer, which is a delicate instrument. You have to make sure you never overwhelm the support.
I’ve played with Dee Dee Bridgewater as well, and she can be like a firestorm on stage, so that’s really cool. It’s very fun and interesting to play with singers.
There’s a tune in our set where Thana and I do a little duet introduction, and it’s cool to be interacting that way with your spouse.
DO YOU HAVE TO USE BRUSHES TO PLAY SOFTLY?
Not at all. In fact, one of the nicest complements was given to me by Charlie Haden. Charlie had a form of tinnitus, and was famous for not wanting drummers to play loudly, so they’d either play with brushes or they’d put plexiglass around the drum set so that it wouldn’t bother his ear.
We were playing at the Village Vanguard, and it was my first time playing him, so I was really self- conscious of the volume. The Vanguard is not an easy room to play in; it’s very dry and you can hear a pin drop from the drums.
I was playing so soft with the brushes, but I decided that I didn’t want to play just brushes for two sets every night all week, so I switched to sticks. But, I was being so careful with the volume that after the first set Haden pulled me over and said, “Can I talk to you about the volume?”
I thought for sure that this was it for me, but he said, “The sticks idea is great, but can you play a little louder, because I’m having a hard time hearing you” (laughs) That was a compliment!
***********
“It can be stereotypical, where drumming is more of an Olympic event than a musical instrument”
***********
LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR RECENT ALBUMS
NORMALLY, YOU DON’T ASSOCIATE DRUMMERS WITH SOCIAL MESSAGES, BUT BOTH YOU AND KENDRICK SCOTT HAVE PUT OUT ALBUMS WITH A THEME. NOT NECESSARILY WITH LYRICS, BUT THROUGH SONG TITLES AS WELL AS IN CONCERTS WHEN YOU DESCRIBE THE MEANING OF EACH SONG.
DID THE THEME OF IMMIGRATION RESONATE BECAUSE OF YOUR BECOMING A US CITIZEN, OR WAS THERE ANOTHER IMPETUS?
It was a confluence of things. It’s a worldwide situation that has opened my eyes. It has to do also with my age; I’m not a little kid anymore, so it’s a combination of things that have lead me to move me into this kind of project with more depth than “I’m just going to write some tunes together and record.”
To get traction nowadays you have to have a little extra something for people to pay attention.
YOU PUT IT VERY WELL WHEN YOU SPOKE AT YOUR CONCERT, STATING THAT “I’M SPEAKING AS AN AMERICAN CITIZEN AS WELL AS A MEXICAN,AS I KNOW HOW LUCKY I AM TO BE HERE. “ YOU CAME ACROSS AS A RECONCILER, WHICH IS DIFFICULT WITH SUCH A SENSITIVE ISSUE.
I am aware that I’m incredibly lucky. I know of many situations of people that I personally know that have not been as lucky, and their lives have developed in a completely different way.
I’m so thankful for what this country has given to me. I owe so many things to how this country is set up and its mentality.
Sometimes speaking out about your government is an act of patriotism and in this case I think it is.
When people tell me “You just became an American citizen and you’re already complaining,” it’s precisely the point. I love this country; it’s given me so much. That’s exactly why I’m complaining. I don’t think this is what my country meant when I got here. It’s not why I got here as I am. If I was trying to come here right now, it would be a completely different thing, so I feel I have a duty to speak up.
**********
“I’m so thankful for what this country has given to me. I owe so many things to how this country is set up and its mentality.”
**********
I KNEW OF FRIEND WHO LIVED WITH A RUSSIAN IMMIGRANT (WHO BECAME A US CITIZEN) YEARS AGO THAT WOULD WAKE UP EVERY MORNING AND SHOUT OUT “GEORGE BUSH IS AN IDIOT.” HE’D ASK THE RUSSIAN WHY HE SAID THAT EVERY DAY, AND HE SAID, “BECAUSE I CAN.” THAT’S THE SIGN OF SOMEONE WHO APPRECIATES THIS FREEDOM.
(laughs) Exactly, but unfortunately there’s a lot of people in jazz that aren’t speaking out too much for some reason. Maybe they think there will be retribution from their fan base that doesn’t want them to get political.
I’ve gotten heat for it from many, many for the past 3-4 years. “Why do you have to do politics with music, man?”
But, as this is what I’m doing, and as an artist this is what I’m hearing in my head and heart as to what I need to do. If someone needs to “Unfollow” me for that, I’m willing to take that risk.
THE SONGS DON’T HAVE ANY LYRICS. IT’S A STORY ONLY THROUGH MUSIC AND SOME TAPES, SO IT CAN BE AUDIBLY INTERPRETED ANY WAY YOU WANT IF YOU DIDN’T KNOW THE UNDERLAYING SITUATION.
I did specifically put some poetry in it, as well as “Home” which Thana sings, but I wanted it to be about empathy and love, not hate.
I’m focusing on the people that need empathy, not those that deserve our hate.
WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE GOALS?
I want to get better at what I do. I want every album to be better than the last. I put my heart and soul into everything that I do.
I would like to do more TV and film work, so I could stay home a little bit more.
I love touring with my band, but I don’t want to be away half the year, every year. Pat does it right, with a tour bus, but it’s incredibly hard and expensive to get to that point.
TV is nice because you can make passive income with royalties, which really doesn’t exist with record sales anymore. I’m already thinking about getting ready for college for my future kids, as you have to be almost a millionaire to send your kids to college.
DID DOING THE SOUNDTRACKS FOR BIRDMAN AND GET SHORTY INSPIRE YOU IN THIS DIRECTION?
It inspired me. Doing Birdman was an incredible experience. It opened my mind to so many things.
I was at first reluctant to go deeper into it, but when I realized the power that it had with the combination of visuals and music, it was something I really wanted to dive into.
***********
I’m not a little kid anymore, so it’s a combination of things that have lead me to move me into this kind of project with more depth than ‘I’m just going to write some tunes together and record'”
***********
YOU LOOK LIKE YOU’RE IN SHAPE. DO YOU HAVE AN EXERCISE REGIME?
I used to do gymnastics for a long time. I have good genes and metabolism, so it’s easy for me to get pumped up quickly.
YOU HAVE A GOOD ATTITUDE ABOUT LIFE. ARE THERE ANY BOOKS, PHILOSPHIES OR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS THAT HAVE GUIDED YOU OR INSPIRE YOU?
I feel that most of my “dogmas” come from my family. My mother was an exceptional woman that gave me a lot of useful tools.
She was a single mother, and I saw her struggle financially to send me to college. She’s always been a big inspiration to me. I feel indebted to her to do well and pay her back; not specifically financially, but to pay her back with my life, as she was so good to me and I want to be her rock at this point in my life.
She’s been a big reason for my trying to do well.
Because I was raised by her and my grandmother and had a lot of women around me while growing up I feel this empathy and connection towards women as friends and as family. With this #MeToo thing I feel as outraged as they do.
I feel passionate about equality in every respect. I feel appalled that we’re still here at this stage.
IT COMES OUT WITH YOUR ATTITUDE ABOUT OUR COUNTRY AND YOUR UPBRINGING; GRATITUDE IS A GOOD MOTIVATION.
I’m grateful to be able to talk to people and play for them.
ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT OUR COUNTRY IS THAT WHEN WE ABSORB PEOPLE FROM VARIOUS PLACES OF THE WORLD, WE’RE “NATIVES” ARE INSPIRED BY THE ENTHUSIASM BY THESE NEW CITIZENS WHO HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH A NEW SENSE OF FREEDOM.
ANTONIO SANCHEZ DOESN’T TAKE THAT FREEDOM FOR GRANTED, CHALLENGING HIS FANS VIA HIS MUSICAL PLATFORM TO TAKE TO HEART WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN AMERICAN. AS HAS BEEN OUR HISTORY DATING BACK TO THE DAYS OF WASHINGTON AND LAFAYETTE, AND THEN THE VISITATION OF DE TOCQUEVILLE, WHEN WE LISTEN TO PROPHETIC VOICES OF NEWFOUND FRIENDS FROM DIFFERENT COUNTRIES, WE ARE THE BETTER FOR IT. AS THE BIBLE SAYS, ‘FAITHFUL ARE THE WOUNDS OF A FRIEND’, AND SANCHEZ IS A FRIEND TO, IN AND OF OUR COUNTRY.