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Jazz Articles about James Brandon Lewis
About James Brandon Lewis
Instrument: Saxophone, tenor
James Brandon Lewis, Wynton Marsalis, Dina Ramirez, Lee Pardini & New Releases
by Ludovico Granvassu
This week we go from Wynton Marsalis' ruminations on the status of our society, to Teodross Avery's and the Analog Players Society's reflections on Monk. In between a world tour with stops in South Africa, Guatemala, Norway, Canada, and on two sides of the country, LA and NYC, for another great tasting menu of the best that today's jazz scene has to offer. Happy listening! PlaylistBen Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" ...
Continue ReadingJames Brandon Lewis, Code Girl, Junk Magic, Tim Berne & Gianni Lenoci
by Maurice Hogue
When you're hot, you're hot, and that's the kind of year saxophonist James Brandon Lewis is having. He's been a part of several fine albums this year, and his recent quartet release, Molecular, for Intakt Records is a further step on his path to the top. He demonstrates his concept of “Molecular Systematic Music." Mary Halvorson always seems to be having a good year, and her new one with Code Girl lives up to her standard. She's incorporating spoken recitations ...
Continue ReadingJames Brandon Lewis: Molecular
by Dan McClenaghan
Saxophonist James Brandon Lewis offers up an introductory statement in the album packaging as a preface to the liner notes of Molecular. His train of thought is difficult to follow. He leaves an impression of not being a “normal" person, in the best possible sense of that assessment. It is the impression of a deep-thinking artist working hard to pin down elusive truths, tying molecular biology and “African American quilting, spirituals, jazz, the abstract paintings of Wassily Kandinsky, the molecular ...
Continue ReadingJames Brandon Lewis & Chad Taylor, Samuel Blaser & Marc Ducret and more
by Maurice Hogue
Mark this one down on your “must-get" list: Live in Willisau by saxophonist James Brandon Lewis and drummer Chad Taylor. It's on Intakt Records, captured live at the annual Willisau Festival in Switzerland. Excellent recording, one that zooms to my favourites of 2020 list. This episode is filled with music from new releases from pianist Alexander Hawkins and cellist Tomeka Reid, trombonist Samuel Blaser and guitarist Marc Ducret, Finnish trumpeter Verneri Pohjola, Irish drummer Steve Davis, the Ombak Trio from ...
Continue ReadingJames Brandon Lewis / Chad Taylor: Live In Willisau
by Mark Corroto
Saxophonist James Brandon Lewis and drummer Chad Taylor's 2017 studio session Radiant Imprints (Musicube/Off, 2018) was hailed by many critics and fans alike as one of the best recordings of 2018. It was indeed a true revelation, yet that recording wasn't the genesis of a major talent. Lewis' inaugural release Divine Travels (Okeh, 2014) accomplished that feat. As for Taylor, he has been on our radar since the 1990s with Rob Mazurek and the various Chicago Underground ensembles, Fred Anderson, ...
Continue ReadingJames Brandon Lewis and Chad Taylor: Live In Willisau
by Troy Dostert
Somewhat forgotten amidst the excitement surrounding James Brandon Lewis' UnRuly Manifesto (Relative Pitch, 2019) was the excellent release that preceded it. Radiant Imprints (Off, 2018), a duo release with drummer Chad Taylor, put the focus squarely on Lewis' extraordinary tenor saxophone prowess and his strong accord with one of the most in-demand drummers in creative jazz. If it didn't have quite the stylistic eclecticism of its successor, it was nevertheless a stimulating release that showed Lewis could more than hold ...
Continue ReadingJames Brandon Lewis: An Unruly Manifesto
by John Sharpe
An UnRuly Manifesto feels like the album tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis has been working towards since his relocation to New York in 2012. His quintet's standout set at the 2019 Vision Festival was based around this program, no surprise given that this is such a formidable disc. Lewis retains the services of bassist Luke Stewart and drummer Warren 'Trae' Crudup III, who fuelled his trio date No Filter (BNS Records, 2017), and also makes that album's guest, guitarist Anthony ...
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