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SPACE ACADEMY CONCERT
31 May 2023 @ 20:30 – 22:30
None other than tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis will be giving a masterclass & evening concert on Wednesday May, 31. In the evening he will play a solo set and a set with musicians from the Amsterdam scene: Pietro Elia Barcellona (bass) and Tristan Renfrow (drums)!
16:00-18:00 Masterclass, 19:00 Dinner, 20:30 Concert.
Masterclass € 20 / Dinner €10 / Concert €8-20
JAMES BRANDON LEWIS
Tenor saxophonist, composer and bandleader James Brandon Lewis is one of today’s most brilliant and relevant jazz musicians. “Lewis is a saxophonist who embodies and transcends tradition,” as The New York Times put it.
His powerful, flexible style has been praised by respected predecessors such as Sonny Rollins and J.D. Allen. He can move effortlessly through a variety of styles, from hip-hop and gospel to raw funk jazz in the vein of Ornette Coleman’s prime time.
In his latest record Eye of I (released 3 feb 2023) JBL plays with an unconventional power trio: Tenor sax, electric cello, and drums. He swapped the aesthetic manifestos he’d attached to previous albums (see An Unruly Manifesto) for a simple punk-band-in-the-basement credo: Chasing energy. Above all else.
It’s a record alive with the messy contrasts of life in the United States circa 2022 – dissonant one minute and graceful/prayerful the next; animated by anger and contention as well as the possibility of resolution; holding equal space for expressions of steadfast faith and wild spontaneous skronkage.
Renowned guitarist Marc Ribot says the following about James Brandon Lewis: “His solos are like a jumbo jet. You need to give them plenty of runway space to take off and land. Because they’re huge […] in terms of sound, chops, soul, ideas, energy, and originality.”
James Brandon Lewis – tenor sax | Pietro Elia Barcellona – bass | Tristan Renfrow – drums