James Brandon Lewis Trio (James Brandon Lewis / Chad Taylor / Josh Werner)

James Brandon Lewis Trio

James Brandon Lewis is one of the modern titans of the tenor.  He’s received accolades from mainstream cultural tastemakers such as Ebony Magazine who hailed him as one of “7 Young Players to Watch,” and earned the respect of a diverse cross section of esteemed artists.  James has worked with such intrepid artists as Weather Report bassist Alphonso Johnson, William Parker, Gerald Cleaver, Charles Gayle, Marilyn Crispell, Ken Filiano, Cooper Moore, Darius Jones, and Sabir Mateen.  In addition, he has collaborated with the dance company CircuitDebris under the direction of Mersiha Mesihovic.  James attended Howard University and holds an MFA from California Institute of the Arts.

Currently, James resides in New York City where he actively gigs as a sideman and leads his own ensembles.  In NYC, he is a co-founder of “Heroes Are Gang Leaders” with poet Thomas Sayers Ellis — a collective of poets and musicians — and he is a member of the collective “Dark Matter,” a conceptual musical collaboration exploring that which is invisible but is detected by its gravitational effects.  Outside NYC, James is an active national and international touring artist with a highly respected profile.  Some career highlights are playing such esteemed festivals as Winter Jazz Festival; Sony Okeh Records Showcase with William Parker and Gerald Cleaver; The Eric Dolphy Festival with an ensemble featuring Grachan Moncur III, Richard Davis, Andrew Cyrille, Angelica Sanchez, Ted Daniel, and Alfred Patterson.

Apple Cores is the latest full-length album from New York tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, “one of the fiercest sounds in jazz today” (The Guardian) with a “penchant for unbound exploration” (Pitchfork).  Informed by the rhythms and textures of hip-hop and funk while remaining rooted in jazz, James Brandon Lewis Trio’s Apple Cores was recorded with Chad Taylor (drums/mbira) and Josh Werner (bass/guitar).  The recording was a collective compositional process that happened over the course of two intense, entirely improvised sessions.