Joe Sanders

Joe Sanders is an American bassist/multi-instrumentalist and composer based in the south of France. Given his proficiency in styles ranging from jazz and samba to blues, R&B, Afro-Latin grooves, and classical music, he is a first-call session and touring musician. His discography includes recording sessions and tours with a who's-who of modern jazz musicians. Sanders also plays in the bands of Ben Wendel, Joshua Redman, Kendrick Scott, Gerald Clayton, and Logan Richardson. In addition to that work, Sanders is also a bandleader. He released his first album, Introducing Joe Sanders, on Criss Cross in 2011. His sophomore offering, 2017's Humanity, was privately issued but widely acclaimed. He joined Slovenian saxophonist Jure Pukl's studio band on 2012's Abstract Society, and has played with him since. They formed the jazz quartet Anorok with drummer Nasheet Waits and trumpeter Peter Evans, and released Melt on Whirlwind Recordings in 2023. He also signed to the label and released his star-studded third album, Parallels.

Sanders was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His earliest musical exposure was to the blues his grandmother played while cleaning the house, and the gospel music he heard in church. As for the latter, where the only instruments were an organ and a drum kit, he wondered if those instruments would benefit from the addition of a bass. It marked a turning point for the youngster. After months of begging, he was given an electric bass at Christmas. He attended and graduated from Milwaukee High School of the Arts in 2002, and won a college scholarship to attend the then-brand-new Brubeck Institute at the University of the Pacific in California. Sanders studied with bassist Christian McBride. He also studied at the Thelonious Monk Institute in Los Angeles under Terence Blanchard, John Clayton, and Robert Hurst. He relocated to New York after graduation. During his tenure in music schools, Sanders had opportunities to play gigs with everyone from Geri Allen and Roy Hargrove to Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and John Clayton.

He made his recording debut with the Joe Gilman Trio, releasing two volumes of Time Again: Brubeck Revisited on Sunnyside in 2004 and 2005. He also appeared on fellow Milwaukeean and childhood friend Philip Dizack's debut offering Beyond a Dream. Sanders returned to the Gilman trio to cut the two-volume Stevie Wonder tribute View So Tender: Wonder Revisited in 2006 and 2007.

Sanders began to establish his session and touring reputations in 2008, first on Christian Scott's Live at Newport, and on studio albums with Ambrose Akinmusire (Prelude to Cora), Theo Croker (In the Tradition), and in 2009, Gerald Clayton (Two-Shade). He also appeared on Walter Smith III's III for Criss Cross in 2010, as well as Clayton's Bond: The Paris Sessions.

Sanders made his leader debut with 2011's Introducing Joe Sanders on Criss Cross. Accompanied by pianist Luis Perdomo, saxophonist Will Vinson, and drummer Rodney Greene, he cut six originals including "A Joy and a Sorrow," co-written with Gretchen Parlato, who sings on the track. The remainder of the program contains a jazz standard and readings of tunes by Pat Metheny and Cedar Walton. It received laudatory reviews in the United States and Europe.

In 2012, Sanders joined the quartet of Slovenian saxophonist Jure Pukl on the album Abstract Society for Storyville. He played their European tour and a bit later, joined the band formally. He appeared on Dizack's sophomore End of an Era (2012) and Clayton's Life Forum (2013), as well as playing on albums by Dayna Stephens (That Nepenthetic Place and I'll Take My Chances), Kendrick Scott Oracle (Conviction), and Dizack again (Single Soul). The following year he worked with Pukl (Life Sound Pictures) as well as saxophonist John Ellis (MOBRO).

In 2013, the bassist toured Europe and the U.S. with musical kindred spirit, saxophonist Charles Lloyd, and a quartet that included drummer Gerald Cleaver and pianist Clayton, with European guests playing cimbalom and lyre. They recorded their show at that year's Jazztopad Festival in Poland and it became the saxophonist's charting, universally acclaimed Blue Note album Wild Man Dance in 2015. It was a big year for Sanders. He also played with the Kendrick Scott Oracle on We Are the Drum, and on The Lafayette Suite in a cooperative quartet with Smith III, drummer Damion Reed, and pianist Lauren Coq. The following year, Sanders made his debut with Wendel on the saxophonist's What We Bring.

A year later, the bassist recorded Tributary Tales with Clayton and toured with him; he also played on Raul Midón's Bad Ass and Blind. The bassist self-released his second album, Humanity, in 2017, leading a quartet that included drummer Eric Harland, pianist Aaron Parks, and Ellis on saxophone and bass clarinet. Recorded at Samurai Studio, the set included eight compositions by the bassist, and covers of Pat Metheny's "Travels" and Joe Henderson's "Afro-Centric." The set offered an adventurous approach that journeyed across post-bop, spiritual, and vanguard jazz, indie rock, global rhythms, R&B, and folk music. It was the first album-length example of his mature creative vision.

In 2018 he played on recordings by vocalist/composer Camille Bertault (Pas De Geant), and back in the States he joined the Tokyo-born, New York-based composer and flutist Mayu Saeki for Hope. He also played with Pukl on Doubtless. The studio band included Pukl and Melissa Aldana on saxophones and veteran drummer Gregory Hutchinson. The following year, his tenure in the Kendrick Scott Oracle netted the album A Wall Becomes a Bridge and a tour. Sanders also appeared with the Quentin Collins Sextet for Road Warrior.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, Sanders had already played on important sessions with Clayton (Happening: Live at the Village Vanguard), Wendel (High Heart) and Quentin Collins Quintet (A Day in the Life). Sanders was a featured, cover-billed guest on Italian saxophonist Daniele Germani's What Reason Could I Give in 2021. Two years later, he made his first appearance with saxophonist Joshua Redman on the Blue Note album Where Are We alongside pianist Parks, guitarists Kurt Rosenwinkel and Gabrielle Cavassa (who also sang on the recording), trumpeter Nicholas Payton, and drummer Brian Blade; the group toured internationally behind it.

The year also saw the release of Melt on Whirlwind Recordings. It was recorded by a band assembled by Pukl and Sanders, with drummer Nasheet Waits and trumpeter Peter Evans.

In October 2024, the bassist released his third album, Parallels, on Whirlwind Recordings. Assembled in halves, the first showcases a live Sanders quartet playing in France in 2021, with drummer Hutchinson and saxophonists Logan Richardson and Seamus Blake. The fourth and final live track from this group includes a guest appearance by Sanders' five-year-old son Elioté Sanders joining the band on melodica on "La Vie Sur la Terre." The second half was cut at Sanders' home studio, mostly solo, utilizing bass, piano, drums, and electronic keyboards in a sparse, elegant mix of mysteriously compelling shorter tunes. Sanders' other guests on the date included saxophonist Pukl and pianist Taylor Eigsti on a cut each.