Antonio Sanchez

Born in Mexico City, 4-time Grammy Award winner Antonio Sánchez began playing the drums at age five and performed professionally in his early teens in Mexico’s rock, jazz and latin scenes.

He pursued a degree in classical piano at the National Conservatory in Mexico and in 1993 enrolled in Berklee College of Music and New England Conservatory, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in Jazz Studies.

Since moving to New York City in 1999, Sánchez has become one of the most sought-after drummers on the international jazz scene. Following 18 years and 9 albums as one of the most revered collaborators with guitarist/composer Pat Metheny, he also has recorded and performed with many other most prominent artists like Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Michael Brecker, Charlie Haden and Toots Thielmans.

In 2014 Sánchez’s popularity soared when he scored Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) which ended up fetching 4 Academy Awards (including Best Picture) and for which Sánchez won a Grammy award. Additional film/tv projects include EPIX Network’s Get Shorty and Hippopotamus among others.

With more than a dozen recordings as a leader or co-leader, Sánchez’s recent projects include the acclaimed epic The Meridian Suite and the star studded Three Times Three. He turned his upset over social injustice into a tribute to every immigrant’s journey in his epic musical statement Lines in the Sand.

Sánchez is the recipient of four Grammys, three Echo Awards, Golden Globe & BAFTA nominations and has been thrice named Modern Drummer’s “Jazz Drummer of the Year”. He has been the covers of DownBeat, JazzTimes, JAZZIZ, Modern Drummer, Drum! and Musico Pro — among others.

Sánchez’s new album SHIFT (Bad Hombre Vol. II) on Warner Music features Sánchez playing virtually every instrument on the album — in addition to being its producer. SHIFT features Trent Reznor, Dave Mathews, Kimbra, Ana Tijoux, Meshell Ndegeocello and more.

Bad Hombre w/ Thana Alexa, BIGYUKI, Lex Sadler

In Spring 2022 Warner Bros Records released “SHIFT (Bad Hombre Vol. II)” from multi-Grammy® winner Antonio Sanchez. The much-anticipated recording features Sanchez collaborating with artists ranging from Trent Reznor to Lila Downs…from Meshell Ndegeocello to Dave Mathews and more. In short, SHIFT is a collection of songs from a spectrum of international singer-songwriters Sanchez greatly admires — artists who entrusted Sanchez with their songs and vocal performances for him to reimagine and “shift” through his genre-bending talents as a composer, multi-instrumentalist, mixer, and producer. Among the most influential and versatile drummers in the world, Sanchez also provides the guitars, keys, background vocals, and electronic soundscapes on SHIFT.

In live performance, the shift will be rendered by Bad Hombre: vocalist Thana Alexa, Bigyuki on keys, Lex Sadler on bass, and Sanchez on drums. In short, it contains the makings of one of those wildly original shows not to be missed.

Japanese Keyboardist Bigyuki has worked with Bilal Oliver, Talib Kweli and Robert Glasper and attended Berklee College of Music. 

Lex Sadler is the music director, programmer, and bassist for Abir and has performed with Arlissa, Nicole Bus, Jordan Bratton, Ellie Goulding, and Ella Henderson.

In 2021 alone, vocalist Thana Alexa was the winner of the UnsignedOnly Music Competition in the jazz category, the winner of the Downbeat Critic’s Poll “Rising Star Vocalist” and her debut album Ona was nominated for two Grammy® Awards.

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