It is the sixth studio album that Antonio Sanchez has recorded as leader since Migration in 2007. The Mexican drummer, who became a naturalized American in 1993, highlights the dehumanization of today’s migrants through his playing.
The current tenant of the White House is necessarily targeted, but the album’s premature European release is significant considering that European countries are also framed by their repressive immigration policies.
Lines In The Sand is the musical saga of the irregular migrants. The rhythmic complexity of the compositions embraces notions of rupture and continuity, an echo of the extraordinary prolonged migratory situation, which has unfortunately become the norm. Here and there, subtle harmonic changes alter the coloring of melodic themes – a metaphor for glimmers of hope being given to those who no longer have any.
These evocatively-titled tracks are sometimes built around several movements. Antonio Sanchez chose not to separate them, forcing his denouncing of the situation into the listener’s ears. In an interview with Jazz Maastricht, he quipped: “If everything was beautiful all the time, we would be all making smooth jazz.”
Regardez The Meridian Suite de Antonio Sanchez & Migration sur Qwest TV
Antonio Sanchez, Lines In The Sand (Camjazz)
