Grammy-Winning BIRDMAN Composer Antonio Sánchez to Perform in Cincinnati

Mexican-born jazz drummer Antonio Sánchez, whose popularity exploded with the release of the Academy Award-winning movie BIRDMAN in 2014, will perform in Cincinnati for the first time at Xavier University's Gallagher Theater on Sunday, March 13.

The concert comes on the heels of Sánchez winning a 2016 Grammy Award for his BIRDMAN score, which also was honored with a Sound Stars Award for best Film Score at the Venice Film Festival. The score was also nominated for Golden Globe and British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA), though it was disqualified - unfairly, in the opinion of many in Hollywood - for an Academy Award because the soundtrack also included classical music.

"Many people, including myself, believe Antonio should have been nominated for an Oscar," said Polina Bespalko, director of the Xavier University Jazz Series. "His music provides such an electric charge and meaning to each scene that it becomes the film's blood and heartbeat."

Sánchez will introduce a special screening of BIRDMAN at The Esquire Theatre in Cincinnati on Saturday, March 12. He will also teach a master class at 6:00 p.m. in the Gallagher Theater following his concert on the 13th, and also at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, March 14 at the School for Creative & Performing Arts (SCPA).

"I am one of Antonio's biggest fans," Bespalko said. "He always creates something innovative and hypnotic that makes an artistic statement. Antonio is a modern day Stravinsky."

The Xavier University Jazz Series will present Antonio Sánchez in the Gallagher Theater at Xavier University on Sunday, March 13, at 3:00 p.m. Tickets range in price from $3 to $28 and can be ordered by calling 513-745-3939 or by visiting www.xavier.edu/musicseries/.

Information about Antonio Sánchez is available at www.AntonioSánchez.net.

Photo Credit: Xavier University Jazz Series