'Birdman' drummer describes art of improvisation, anger at Trump

The film Birdman is memorable for many reasons, not least of them the film's musical score — essentially one long percussive drum solo.

The drummer behind those beats, Grammy Award winner Antonio Sanchez, is in Vancouver to perform the Birdman score live alongside the film at the PuSh Festival.

The percussive score in the film is all based on improvisation, he told CBC host of The Early Edition Stephen Quinn.

"It was me reacting to what [director Alejandro González Iñárritu] was saying and what I was seeing," he said. "It's not that different from playing with a band and reacting to everything that was going on in real time."

The first demos he submitted were very structured, Sanchez said, thinking that would be best because film scores are typically less improvised.

"They were too stiff for [the director]," Sanchez said. "He told me 'I really want something improvised, something very jazzy.' "

For Sanchez, who has a master's in jazz improvisation from Boston's New England Conservatory of Music, that was all the instructions he needed.  

Sanchez completed the score in about a day and a half, he said.

New Album

Since Birdman, Sanchez has turned to more politically fuelled music.

His latest album Bad Hombre was inspired by his feelings about U.S. President Donald Trump's comments about Mexicans and other minorities.

Sanchez was born in Mexico City.

"I had started doing this record that was based on improvisation," he said. "A lot of anger and frustration had been pouring out of me because of these improvisations."

"[Those feelings] were put on the record in an artistic and musical way which I think is the best thing about art in general."

He is performing at the Vogue Theatre on Feb. 1, starting at 8 p.m.  

With files from The Early Edition.