The curriculum vitae of American saxophonist James Brandon Lewis reads like the ultimate letter of credence. Legend Sonny Rollins – who doesn’t often offer praise and was moved by Lewis’ “deep, spirit-seeking sound” – let slip that: “When I listen to you, I listen to Buddha, I listen to Confucius … I listen to the deeper meaning of life. You are keeping the world in balance.” Master guitarist Marc Ribot describes him as “a keeper of the legacy of John Coltrane” and Moor Mother (Irreversible Entanglements) personally tipped him to us as the new kid on the block.

Those who saw Lewis’ visit to Jazz Is Dead – the groundbreaking concert and album series by founders Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest) – were immediately won over. And those who hear his version of Donny Hathaway’s Someday We’ll All Be Free surely become instant fans. 

He underscores his versatility both in his collaboration with The Messthetics (consisting of two ex-Fugazi members) as well as on his latest album For Mahalia, With Love, a tribute to gospel legend Mahalia Jackson. That his previous album (also released in 2023) Eye For I was put out by ANTI- (see: Tom Waits, Calexico, Moor Mother) is therefore no coincidence.