Master Series: Antonio Sanchez

Hudson Music
presents

Master Series
ANTONIO SANCHEZ
Transcriptions & Text by Joe Bergamini

Engraving by Willie Rose

PDF Design by Joe Bergamini and Willie Rose

DVD Produced by Paul Siegel and Rob Wallis

DRUM KEY:

Copyright © 2008 Hudson Music LLC

All Rights Reserved
www.hudsonmusic.com
 Master Series: Antonio Sanchez

“CHALLENGE WITHIN”

This is the 5/4 clave that underlies this tune:

And here is the 5/4 clave with cascara pattern:

PRACTICE: AREAS OF FOCUS

Here are some of the areas that Antonio recommends drummers devote attention to dur-
ing practice, as discussed on the DVD:

1. Identify and work on your weaknesses. Don’t just stay with what you are already com-
fortable with.

2. Work with a click track:

A. Use click on all four quarter notes of the bar.
B. Click on half notes only.
C. Click on whole notes only.
D. Move the click around so it only plays beats 2, 3, or 4 in each bar.

3. Hand Technique:
A. Don’t rely completely on bounce.
B. Practice on different surfaces.
C. Split hands with right hand on one surface, left hand on another.
D. Practice rudiments on various surfaces.

4. Practice playing simple.

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 Master Series: Antonio Sanchez

INDEPENDENCE: PRACTICE ROUTINES

To develop independence between the limbs, practice the following ostinatos with various
hand/foot patterns played against them. This will give you the physical capacity necessary
to express ideas in various styles.

To develop jazz independence with the left hand, play the following ostinato:

And against it, play various patterns with your left hand to develop independence. On the
DVD, Antonio plays the following phrase as an example:
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Antonio recommends using the book Syncopation by Ted Reed as a source for left hand
practice rhythms. Almost any book with eighth-note rhythms could be used. The Art of Bop
Drumming by John Riley and Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer by Jim Chapin
are also great resources.

You can then move on to working on independence with the bass drum. Play the following
ostinato with right hand, left hand, and left foot:

And then play patterns from Syncopation (or other books) against this ostinato with your
right foot on the bass drum. For clarity, here is what this example would look like if all the
parts were written out together:

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 Master Series: Antonio Sanchez

Sometimes it is helpful to write the exercises out in this fashion so you can see where
things line up.

You can also work on independence with your left foot on the hi-hat. Play this ostinato:

And then play your independence figures against this with your left foot on the hi-hat.

You can also approach independence in other styles in the same fashion. For Samba, play
the following ostinato:

Against this, play independence figures from your books both as written (with a half-time
feel), and in a double-time feel. Antonio demonstrates the same 4-bar phrase (from Exam-
ple 4) against the Samba ostinato in this manner. Here’s what the snare part looks like:

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 Master Series: Antonio Sanchez

Here is an ostinato to achieve independence in the Afro-Cuban style. It consists of the

Bongo bell pattern played on the ride, with a 3-2 Rhumba clave played by the left foot and
a tumbao played by the bass drum:

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On the DVD, Antonio plays the Syncopation phrase (Example 4) against this ostinato with
both a half-time and double-time feel on the snare:

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Again, use the figures in various books like Syncopation to practice against these ostinatos.

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 Master Series: Antonio Sanchez

INDEPENDENCE: USING PERMUTATIONS

Another effective way to work on independence is by playing rhythmic permutations that
train you to be able to play on any beat in the measure. For instance, when working on
Samba independence, use the following ostinato:

12

On the DVD, Antonio plays the following excercise, which uses sliding/displaced rhythms,
and gradually adds more notes until the entire measure is covered. This is played on the
snare drum along with the above ostinato:

13

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 Master Series: Antonio Sanchez

Use the same sliding/displaced excercise with ostinatos in the Afro-Cuban and Jazz styles.
Here is an Afro-Cuban ostinato against which the above patterns (Example 13) can be
played on the snare:

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Here is an Afro-Cuban ostinato against which the above rhythms (Example 13) can be
played on the bass drum, to develop independence with the right foot:

15

ROY HAYNES LICK

Below is a left-foot hi-hat idea that Antonio demonstrates which was inspired by the great
Roy Haynes:

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 Master Series: Antonio Sanchez

“THE GATHERING SKY”

Here is the basic 3/4 Samba groove that Antonio uses under the guitar solo:

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Antonio builds his closing solo on various clave patterns, some in odd meters. Here is the
basic 3-2 Rhumba clave, which the odd-meter patterns are based on:

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Here is the first odd-meter pattern, a clave in 5/4 time. The right foot plays the downbeat
of each measure on a cowbell played by the right foot. Antonio solos over this pattern.

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The last two examples show the 7/8 clave. This clave is composed of two bars of 7/8. The
first example has the bass drum playing the downbeat of each bar of 7. The second exam-
ple shows the right-foot cowbell playing only the downbeat of the first bar.

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 Master Series: Antonio Sanchez

PROFESSIONALISM
As Antonio points out on the DVD, your playing skills must be complemented by your pro-
fessional skills in order to succeed in the music business. Some of the things that top-level
musicians and bands look for are:

- Punctuality.
- Returning calls and e-mails promptly.
- Having reliable equipment.
- Being humble and easy to work with.
- Having an approachable and friendly personality.
- Having a good attitude and respecting the music.

ANTONIO SANCHEZ SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY

Antonio Sanchez Migration (CamJazz)
Pat Metheny Group Speaking of Now (Warner Bros)
The Way Up (Nonesuch)
Pat Metheny Trio Day Trip (Nonesuch)
Chick Corea Trio
w/John Patitucci Dr. Joe (Independent)
Michael Brecker Wide Angles (Verve)
Gary Burton Quartet
w/Pat Metheny, Steve Swallow Live at Yoshi's (Concorde)
David Sanchez Travesia (Sony)
Melaza (Sony)
Danilo Perez Motherland (Verve)
Miguel Zenon Looking Forward (Fresh Sound)
Ceremonial (Marsalis Music)
Jibaro (Marsalis Music)
Avishai Cohen Unity (Stretch)
Colors (Stretch)
Scott Colley Architect of the Silent Moment (CamJazz)
Donny McCaslin Soar (SunnySide)
In Pursuit (SunnySide)
Alex Sipiagine Out of the Circle (SunnySide)
Returning (Criss Cross)
Prints (Criss Cross)
Rodriguez Brothers Conversations (Savant)
Diego Urcola Viva (CamJazz)
Victor Mendoza Black Bean Blues (Ram)
Paoli Mejias Transcend (independent)

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 Master Series: Antonio Sanchez

RECOMMENDED LISTENING
Miles Davis Kind Of Blue
The Complete Concert 1964
John Coltrane Dear Old Stockholm
Giant Steps
A Love Supreme
Charlie Parker At Birldand
Chick Corea Now He Sings, Now He Sobs
Elektric Band
Michael Brecker Pilgrimage
Pat Metheny Bright Size Life
Trio 99-00
Question and Answer
Kenny Garrett Black Hope
Branford Marsalis Crazy People Music
The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born
Danilo Perez The Journey
David Sanchez Sketches of Dreams
Chris Potter Traveling Mercies
Gonzalo Rubalcaba Supernova
Tito Puente Top Percussion
Joshua Redman Back East
Conjunto Clave y Guaguanco Vale Todo
Michel Camilo Through My Eyes
Kenny Werner Lawn Chair Society

RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Syncopation by Ted Reed (Alfred Publishing Co.)
Rhythm and Meter Patterns by Gary Chaffee (Alfred Publishing Co.)
The Essence of Afro-Cuban Percussion and Drum Set by Ed Uribe (Alfred Publishing Co.)
The Art of Playing Timbales by Victor Rendon (Music in Motion Films)
Stickings and Orchestrations for Drumset by Casey Scheurell (Berklee Press)
The Drummer's Complete Vocabulary as Taught by Alan Dawson by John Ramsay (Alfred Pub-
lishing Co.)

Copyright © 2008 Hudson Music LLC

All Rights Reserved
www.hudsonmusic.com

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