While Sánchez was still at the Conservatory in 1997, his teacher, Danilo Pérez, recommended him to Paquito D'Rivera for the drum chair in Dizzy Gillespie's United Nations Orchestra, which led to him touring with the orchestra. Later in 1997, Perez invited Sánchez to be a part of his acoustic trio which resulted in extensive touring, and the recording of the Grammy Award-nominated album "Motherland". The tour resulted in him being heard by legendary guitarist Pat Metheny who invited Sánchez to join the Pat Metheny Group as its drummer after a series of auditions.