New York City-based tenor saxophonist and composer James Brandon Lewis, who’s been one jazz’s most forward-thinking and cutting-edge artists over the last decade, has returned with a superb new trio album on the Los Angeles label Anti- Records, titled Eye Of I.

Also featuring cellist Chris Hoffman and drummer Max Jaffe, this incredible 11-track album blends adventurous solos and free-wheeling avant improvisation with soulful melodies and spiritual grooves that all meld together nicely. Most of the compositions are written by JBL, however the record also includes some solid renditions of Donny Hathaway’s “Someday We’ll all be Free” and Cecil Taylor’s “Womb Water,” along with the epic collaborative work “Fear Not” with The Messthetics (featuring Fugazi members bassist Joe Lally & drummer Brendan Canty with guitarist Anthony Pirog).

Overall, another impressive and dynamic recording by one of today’s great boundary-pushing saxophonists. Highly recommended!

Catch James Brandon Lewis now on tour with The Messthetics, now through March 2023

James Brandon Lewis — ‘Eye of I’
(Anti- Records)

1. Foreground
2. Someday We’ll all be Free
3. The Blues Still Blossoms
4. Middle Ground
5. Eye Of I
6. Within you are Answers
7. Womb Water
8. Background
9. Send Seraphic Beings
10. Even The Sparrow
11. Fear Not (feat. The Messthetics)

BUY RECORD

• Jazz
• Spiritual Jazz