Jay Sanders

Jay Sanders is a guitarist, bassist, composer, producer, and bandleader based in Asheville, N.C. An avid musical explorer with an insatiably curious mind, his music seamlessly fuses jazz, rock, blues, metal, and African influences with years of improvisational study. His compositions range from structured thematic works and soulful grooves to Americana reflections, global soundscapes, and experimental improvisations.

With more than two dozen recordings and performances across 47 U.S. states and six countries, Jay is best known as the longtime bassist for Acoustic Syndicate, widely considered a progenitor of the jam and jamgrass scenes. The North Carolina-bred band has performed at major festivals including Bonnaroo and Farm Aid over their 25-year career. Jay also served as bassist for Americana legends Donna the Buffalo from 2007-2010 and co-leads the avant-garde E.Normus Trio, whose debut Love & Barbiturates earned critical acclaim for its fusion of "jazz-rock, free-jazz and progressive metal-jazz."

His solo debut, Evanescent, released July 12, 2024, showcases his compositional range with an eight-person ensemble featuring saxophone, fiddle, and VO-96 synth. German website eR eM praised the album's "astonishing range of styles and sounds," calling it a "wonderful debut." His first symphonic work, "Sinfonietta Helene," will premiere with the Blue Ridge Orchestra in September 2025.

Jay's commitment to fostering musical community includes organizing the inaugural Asheville Improvisational Music Festival and serving on the board of URSA Asheville, a non-profit dedicated to igniting musical innovation. He co-owns the award-winning cocktail bar Little Jumbo, where he leads a quartet every Tuesday night and curates weekly jazz performances, building a "Live at Little Jumbo" recording series for release in 2025 and beyond.

Throughout his career, Sanders has performed with Ornette Coleman, Béla Fleck, Fred Wesley, Sam Bush, Bernie Worrell, Tim Reynolds, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux and many other celebrated musicians, while studying with jazz educators including Reggie Wooten, Samurai Celestial, Jeff Sipe, and Jerry Coker.

Tags

Jay Sanders guitar Asheville, NC Global Soundscapes Americana Reflections experimental Avant-garde Composer

This debut release that skirts the boundaries of jazz-rock, free-jazz and progressive metal-jazz. The jazz and improvisational elements accentuate most of these works, fueled by adrenaline rushes amid the broad arsenal.

It's all been done before in various ways, shapes and forms, but this band integrates numerous genre-based inferences into its repertoire. With asymmetrical doses of swing, rock, and Sanders' fuzzed-out psycho guitar licks, the music generates remembrances of New York City's vibrant downtown scene, at times drawing comparisons to John Zorn's Naked City ensemble... the band counterbalances a feeding frenzy with softly woven innocence, and is a consistent paradigm throughout the program. Hence, it doesn't work within one particular formula, yet maintains a distinct group-centric persona.