Mexican drummer and five-time Grammy winner, Antonio Sánchez, made his debut in Mexico City’s Fine Arts Palace, yesterday evening with “The Meridian Suite”, a single non-stop piece that lasted ninety minutes and was composed a couple of years ago.
Antonio Sánchez describes his suite as a “musical novella” with rhythmic motifs serving as characters that unfold throughout his sonorous universe. He added that this suite is one of his most ambitious projects as it comprises musical influences of various genres such as rock, pop, funk, fusion and forms rooted in the Latin, free and straight-ahead jazz styles.
The now famed drummer came into prominence after winning a Grammy for composing the film score of Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Oscar-winning “Birdman”. Based in New York City, Sánchez had expressed his constant wish to play in Mexican musical stages and thanked for the opportunity to play in prestigious Fine Arts Palace in Mexico City.
“I am grateful to my family and friends, you know playing here is something quite touching and special for me […] I live in New York and you can already imagine how things stand over there at the moment. I believe that if we look after each other and support each other with good vibes we can defeat all the ugly things that are happening in the world. Having all of you here gives me lots of hope and I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart”,he added.
Sánchez was accompanied by his band “Migration”, with saxophone player Seamus Blake, piano player John Escreet, bassist Matt Brewer and singer Thana Alexa.
The audiences’ enthusiasm made the band played an encore with “One night story” and a 10-minute drum solo on Sanchez’ part.