Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Episode 88: Antonio Sánchez. Antonio is one of the most celebrated drummers and composers of our time. From shaping the sound of the Pat Metheny Group, to scoring Alejandro Iñárritu’s Oscar-winning film Birdman, to composing for Apple TV+’s The Studio, Antonio has pushed the boundaries of what a drummer can be. With 4 GRAMMY wins, a 2025 Emmy nomination, and collaborations spanning jazz, film, and world music, his artistry continues to inspire musicians and audiences worldwide.
This is a 2.5 hour deep dive interview with Antonio that covers the full scope of his career. We talk about his journey from Mexico City to Berklee and how he got onto the world stage, the story behind creating the all-drum score for Birdman, and what it was like to spend decades working side by side with Pat Metheny.
We dig into the lessons he’s carried forward, his approach to film scoring, and how he brings storytelling into his drumming. We also get into his newest projects like Bad Hombre 1 and 2, BEATrio with Béla Fleck and Edmar Castañeda, Elipsis with Michael League and Pedrito Martínez, and his collabs with Dave Matthews, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Silvana Estrada, Joe Lovano, John Patitucci, Christian McBride, John Scofield and more, as he continues to expand his musical universe.
Hope you enjoy my conversation with the incredible human, Antonio Sanchez.
Big thanks to our friends at DistroKid! DistroKid is the easiest and fastest way to get your music on over 150 platforms worldwide! Go to distrokid.com/vip/elmo to get 20% off your first year!
‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights.
0:00:00 - TRAILER
0:04:36 - INTERVIEW STARTS
0:05:46 - EARLY LIFE
0:10:52 - PIANIST, GYMNASTICS
0:12:25 - GETTING PILOT'S LICENSE
0:16:36 - LEARNING DRUMS, MOVING
0:19:05 - BERKLEE, HOW ANTONIO LEARNED, DAVE WECKL
0:25:16 - RON SAVAGE STORY
0:33:20 - DANILO PÉREZ
0:35:47 - PAQUITO D'RIVERA
0:37:45 - STUDYING WITH DANILO PÉREZ AND GEORGE GARZONE
0:41:25 - DANILO PÉREZ TOUR
0:42:30 - MEETING PAT METHENY
0:47:32 - PLAYING WITH PAT FOR THE FIRST TIME ON JACK DEJOHNETTE'S KIT, GETTING THE GIG
0:53:44 - RECORDING "SPEAKING OF NOW" WITH PAT METHENY
1:00:57 - PAT METHENY TOUR STORY
1:03:17 - CREATING A COMPOSITION WITH PAT METHENY
1:07:03 - PAT METHENY TRIO WITH CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE
1:10:30 - DAY TRIP
1:11:38 - GREATEST LESSON FROM PAT METHENY
1:13:10 - ALEX KERLAND
1:14:15 - PAT METHENY CONTINUED
1:15:11 - BIRDMAN
1:19:41 - HOW ANTONIO GOT THE BIRDMAN GIG, ALEJANDRO GONZÁLEZ IÑÁRRITU
1:24:53 - CREATING THE DRUM SOUND FOR BIRDMAN
1:31:52 - THE STUDIO
1:33:52 - HOW ANTONIO WROTE FOR "BIRDMAN"
1:35:29 - WINNING A GRAMMY FOR BIRDMAN SCORE
1:39:46 - SOLO CAREER
1:44:00 - “BAND HOMBRE”
1:46:18 - GRAMMY NOMINATION
1:46:18 - “BAD HOMBRE VOL. II”
1:48:21 - SILVANA ESTRADA
1:52:55 - MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO
1:53:09 - TRENT REZNOR
1:56:11 - DAVE MATTHEWS, BELA FLECK, PAT METHENY
2:02:25 - "THE STUDIO" APPLE TV+ SHOW
2:06:46 - THE MISSING REEL EPISODE
2:08:13 - DOING EVERY INSTRUMENT ON THE STUDIO SOUNDTRACK
2:09:00 - RECORDING AT HOME
2:10:56 - HOW THE SCORE FOR "THE STUDIO" WAS CREATED
2:14:17 - DAILY LIFE, WORK ETHIC
2:16:44 - FOCUS, PRODUCTIVITY
2:17:43 - 3X3 ALBUM
2:20:48 - JOE LOVANO
2:21:34 - BEATRIO, BELA FLECK
2:28:33 - MARRIAGE
2:31:23 - THE JAMMJAM
2:32:29 - ROY HAYNES
Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW this podcast to catch new episodes as soon as they drop! Your likes, comments and shares are much appreciated!
patreon.com/gowithelmo Become a Patreon Member to stay in the loop as we post Patreon-only exclusive content, Zoom hangs, invite only events, and discussions about music and music careers.
Listen to the audio form of this podcast wherever you get your podcasts: elmolovano.komi.io
Follow Antonio:
instagram.com/antoniodrums1
Follow Go With Elmo:
instagram.com/gowithelmo
tiktok.com/@gowithelmo
https://x.com/gowithelmopod
Follow Elmo Lovano:
Instagram.com/elmolovano
https://x.com/elmolovano
Follow Jammcard:
youtube.com/@jammcard
jammcard.com
Episode 88: Antonio Sánchez. Antonio is one of the most celebrated drummers and composers of our time. From shaping the sound of the Pat Metheny Group, to scoring Alejandro Iñárritu’s Oscar-winning film Birdman, to composing for Apple TV+’s The Studio, Antonio has pushed the boundaries of what a drummer can be. With 4 GRAMMY wins, a 2025 Emmy nomination, and collaborations spanning jazz, film, and world music, his artistry continues to inspire musicians and audiences worldwide.
This is a 2.5 hour deep dive interview with Antonio that covers the full scope of his career. We talk about his journey from Mexico City to Berklee and how he got onto the world stage, the story behind creating the all-drum score for Birdman, and what it was like to spend decades working side by side with Pat Metheny.
We dig into the lessons he’s carried forward, his approach to film scoring, and how he brings storytelling into his drumming. We also get into his newest projects like Bad Hombre 1 and 2, BEATrio with Béla Fleck and Edmar Castañeda, Elipsis with Michael League and Pedrito Martínez, and his collabs with Dave Matthews, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Silvana Estrada, Joe Lovano, John Patitucci, Christian McBride, John Scofield and more, as he continues to expand his musical universe.
Hope you enjoy my conversation with the incredible human, Antonio Sanchez.
Big thanks to our friends at DistroKid! DistroKid is the easiest and fastest way to get your music on over 150 platforms worldwide! Go to distrokid.com/vip/elmo to get 20% off your first year!
‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights.
0:00:00 - TRAILER
0:04:36 - INTERVIEW STARTS
0:05:46 - EARLY LIFE
0:10:52 - PIANIST, GYMNASTICS
0:12:25 - GETTING PILOT'S LICENSE
0:16:36 - LEARNING DRUMS, MOVING
0:19:05 - BERKLEE, HOW ANTONIO LEARNED, DAVE WECKL
0:25:16 - RON SAVAGE STORY
0:33:20 - DANILO PÉREZ
0:35:47 - PAQUITO D'RIVERA
0:37:45 - STUDYING WITH DANILO PÉREZ AND GEORGE GARZONE
0:41:25 - DANILO PÉREZ TOUR
0:42:30 - MEETING PAT METHENY
0:47:32 - PLAYING WITH PAT FOR THE FIRST TIME ON JACK DEJOHNETTE'S KIT, GETTING THE GIG
0:53:44 - RECORDING "SPEAKING OF NOW" WITH PAT METHENY
1:00:57 - PAT METHENY TOUR STORY
1:03:17 - CREATING A COMPOSITION WITH PAT METHENY
1:07:03 - PAT METHENY TRIO WITH CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE
1:10:30 - DAY TRIP
1:11:38 - GREATEST LESSON FROM PAT METHENY
1:13:10 - ALEX KERLAND
1:14:15 - PAT METHENY CONTINUED
1:15:11 - BIRDMAN
1:19:41 - HOW ANTONIO GOT THE BIRDMAN GIG, ALEJANDRO GONZÁLEZ IÑÁRRITU
1:24:53 - CREATING THE DRUM SOUND FOR BIRDMAN
1:31:52 - THE STUDIO
1:33:52 - HOW ANTONIO WROTE FOR "BIRDMAN"
1:35:29 - WINNING A GRAMMY FOR BIRDMAN SCORE
1:39:46 - SOLO CAREER
1:44:00 - “BAND HOMBRE”
1:46:18 - GRAMMY NOMINATION
1:46:18 - “BAD HOMBRE VOL. II”
1:48:21 - SILVANA ESTRADA
1:52:55 - MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO
1:53:09 - TRENT REZNOR
1:56:11 - DAVE MATTHEWS, BELA FLECK, PAT METHENY
2:02:25 - "THE STUDIO" APPLE TV+ SHOW
2:06:46 - THE MISSING REEL EPISODE
2:08:13 - DOING EVERY INSTRUMENT ON THE STUDIO SOUNDTRACK
2:09:00 - RECORDING AT HOME
2:10:56 - HOW THE SCORE FOR "THE STUDIO" WAS CREATED
2:14:17 - DAILY LIFE, WORK ETHIC
2:16:44 - FOCUS, PRODUCTIVITY
2:17:43 - 3X3 ALBUM
2:20:48 - JOE LOVANO
2:21:34 - BEATRIO, BELA FLECK
2:28:33 - MARRIAGE
2:31:23 - THE JAMMJAM
2:32:29 - ROY HAYNES
Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW this podcast to catch new episodes as soon as they drop! Your likes, comments and shares are much appreciated!
patreon.com/gowithelmo Become a Patreon Member to stay in the loop as we post Patreon-only exclusive content, Zoom hangs, invite only events, and discussions about music and music careers.
Listen to the audio form of this podcast wherever you get your podcasts: elmolovano.komi.io
Follow Antonio:
instagram.com/antoniodrums1
Follow Go With Elmo:
instagram.com/gowithelmo
tiktok.com/@gowithelmo
https://x.com/gowithelmopod
Follow Elmo Lovano:
Instagram.com/elmolovano
https://x.com/elmolovano
Follow Jammcard:
youtube.com/@jammcard
jammcard.com
