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Jazz Articles about James Brandon Lewis
About James Brandon Lewis
Instrument: Saxophone, tenor
Harold Danko, Count Basie & James Brandon Lewis
by Joe Dimino
From the young and talented \ we begin the 704th Episode of Neon Jazz with a track off James Brandon Lewis's Live at Willisau done some years back, but released in 2020. We also look into some impressive singers & performers releasing new music including Shelly Rudolph and Emi Makabe. We also include some big band releases in the mix from Dan Bonsanti and Jeff Benedict. We tie this hour together from a vocal legend Queen Bey. Enjoy the jazz, ...
Continue ReadingJames Brandon Lewis, Jaimie Branch, & Dave Rempis
by Maurice Hogue
Chalk up another great recording from saxophonist and composer James Brandon Lewis. Jesup Wagon for Tau Forms marks another step on what seems to be a steady climb to the top of current saxophonists. Like last year's great Live At Willisau, JBL has drummer Chad Taylor with him along with Kirk Knuffke, Christopher Hoffman and the great William Parker. They are the Red Lily Quartet. Another rising star is trumpeter Jaimie Branch. Her Fly Or Die quartet are captured live ...
Continue ReadingJames Brandon Lewis: Jesup Wagon
by Mark Corroto
Most listeners have long since moved saxophonist James Brandon Lewis from the rising star category to one labeled virtuoso. But then, pianist Matthew Shipp signaled this status when he mentored Lewis early on and certainly bassist William Parker ordained his arrival by recording with the saxophonist on his major label debut, Divine Travels (Okeh, 2014). Parker returns for this latest release, as does drummer Chad Taylor who can be heard on the quartet recording Molecular (Intakt Records, 2020) and two ...
Continue ReadingThe Unstoppable James Brandon Lewis
by Eric Gudas
Tenor saxophonist, composer, and writer James Brandon Lewis is driven by a restlessness that makes him one of his generation's standout players of, and thinkers about jazz. Although he was voted Rising Star Tenor Saxophonist in the 2020 DownBeat Magazine International Critic's Poll, most might say, after listening to his recent releases, that his star has already risen. Hailing from Buffalo, New York, Lewis apprenticed at Howard University, CalArts, the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music, ...
Continue ReadingJames Brandon Lewis & Red Lily Quintet: Jesup Wagon
by Vic Albani
Erano anni che il jazz attendeva un lavoro come questo. Splendido nella totale sua interezza, capace di riportare “il jazz nel jazz" dopo tanti anni e tante nuove incisioni che i critici hanno valutato con attenzione e spesso incensate come lo sforzo creativo del guardare avanti, pur “rimanendo nobilmente avvinghiati alla tradizione" e via di conserva. Potremmo analizzare a lungo il jazz contemporaneo ma davanti a dischi come questo è ovvio riflettere e considerare ciò che in ...
Continue ReadingJames Brandon Lewis Quartet: Molecular
by Alberto Bazzurro
Trentotto anni, di Buffalo, James Brandon Lewis è uno dei più solidi tenorsassofonisti della sua generazione. A confermarcelo arriva questo suo nuovo lavoro in quartetto inciso a inizio 2020 (quindi fra gli ultimi ante-pandemia) in cui la solidità di cui sopra si manifesta sotto diversi profili: il suono, post-coltraniano aggiornato (non senza una patina di lirismo più o meno sotterraneo che rimanda a Gato Barbieri), le geometrie e gli equilibri quartettistici (complessivi), la cifra compositiva (tutti del sassofonista gli undici ...
Continue ReadingJames Brandon Lewis, Chad Taylor: Live In Willisau
by Vic Albani
Il set finale dell'edizione 2019 del festival di Willisau in Svizzera (uno degli appuntamenti di assoluto riferimento del jazz contemporaneo della stagione festivaliera europea) è tra quelli da ricordare. Ovvio che per far sì che questo accada i protagonisti dello stesso debbano essere “a livello" e se, come in questo caso, si chiamano James Brandon Lewis e Chad Taylor è allora facile comprendere il perché di tanto riscontro e successo. Oltre a improvvisazioni e brani firmati dai due citati, brani ...
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