“The saxophonist has balanced a deep, gospel-informed spirituality with free jazz- abandon and hard-hitting funk-meets-hip-hop underpinning.” (Rolling Stone)
 

The curriculum vitae of American saxophonist James Brandon Lewis is akin to the ultimate reference. Legend Sonny Rollins - who doesn't often praise the saxophonist and was touched by Lewis' “deep, spiritual sound” - said of Lewis: “When I listen to you, I listen to Buddha, I listen to Confucius... I listen to the deeper meaning of life. You keep the world in balance”. Master guitarist Marc Ribot describes him as “a guardian of John Coltrane's legacy”, and Moor Mother (Irreversible Entanglements) personally introduced him to us as “the new kid on the block”.
 

Anyone who saw his performance at “Jazz Is Dead” (the concert and album series by A Tribe Called Quest founders Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad) was immediately captivated. Anyone who heard Lewis' version of Donny Hathaway's “Someday We'll All Be Free” became an instant fan. His versatility is underlined not only by his collaboration with The Messthetics (made up of two former members of Fugazi), but also by his latest album “For Mahalia, With Love”, a tribute to gospel legend Mahalia Jackson. So it's no coincidence that his previous album (also released in 2023), 'Eye For I', was released by ANTI- (see: Tom Waits, Calexico, Moor Mother).
 

Line-up
 

James Brandon Lewis: tenorsax
 

Luke Stewart: bass
 

Warren Trae Crudup III: drums