Not yet 30,
Christian Sands is currently one of the most in-demand pianists working in
jazz. In the last few years he has toured around the world as a bandleader and
recently appeared as a sideman on records by Christian McBride and Gregory
Porter. After the one-two punch of Reach and Reach Further - EP, Sands' dynamic
2017 Mack Avenue debut and his live/unreleased studio tracks EP follow-up
released earlier this year, Facing Dragons is Sands' return to the recording
studio with an indestructible band and an unwavering allegiance to the groove.
"I like
the freedom of the trio format," says Sands. "It's more dramatic to
me. It's a smaller entity but with a big personality. I can fit it into
different situations dynamically, compositionally." Opening track
"Rebel Music" features Sands' wide-ranging scope at its most elegant,
nimbly jetting through single unison lines and bright block chords. Here and
throughout the record he is joined by bassist Yasushi Nakamura and drummer
Jerome Jennings, the band that Sands has been relentlessly touring with. The
two sensitive accompanists are locked in sync, joined occasionally by a
powerhouse pair of horns, a sinewy guitarist and a fiery pair of
percussionists.
Saxophonist
Marcus Strickland strikes first on the hard swinging “Fight for Freedom,”
unleashing a throaty cry over the churning band. “Marcus Strickland brings a
certain fire to the band,” says Sands. “Especially on this track. He’s got a
rich and deep tone, so it was perfect for the earthy theme of the song.”
Trumpeter Keyon Harrold shares the frontline with Strickland, playing in
effortless harmony on the melody before getting a little solo space near the
tune’s close.
Harrold
takes centerstage later on “Frankenstein,” a churning meditation reminiscent of
Herbie Hancock’s seafaring journeys of the 1960s. Sands is spacious in support
and patient on his solo, the tune an energetic workout for all involved.
Facing
Dragons
“Rebel
Music"
"Fight
For Freedom"
"Yesterday"
"Sangueo
Soul"
"Sunday
Mornings"
"Frankenstein"
"Her
Song"
"Samba
Da Vela"
"Rhodes
to Meditation"
Earlier this
year Sands was named creative ambassador to The Erroll Garner Jazz Project, a
non-profit organization dedicated to the legacy of the late great pianist
Erroll Garner. After inheriting the position from the late Geri Allen – one of
Sands’ mentors – he is a natural fit for the role. Sands has that same affable
understanding of the audience as he recognizes their innate desire to be
entertained as well as enlightened. He tackles the Beatles’ “Yesterday” with a
soulful saunter. “Pop music is essential in jazz. It’s new melodies, it’s new
stories, or same stories told in different ways. Jazz is about storytelling and
pop music has a unique story to tell.”
Sands has
yet to bring his band to Venezuela but when he gets there, he’ll be more than
ready for the infectious polyrhythms found on the shores of Choroni Beach. On
“Sangueo Soul,” Sands bounces above the churning South American rhythms, with
Caio Afiune doubling the piano lines on guitar. It alternates between the two
sounds, blending them at will, a sprightly dash of octaves on the piano cross
paths with intergalactic vibrations. The tune is impossible to resist as a
battery of rhythm pushes Sands’ piano into a righteous jaunt; clear the
dancefloor. Percussionist Cristian Rivera appeared on Sands’ Mack Avenue
Records debut, and the two formed a tight bond over a decade ago in Bobby
Sanabria’s Afro Cuban Big Band. Percussionist Roberto Quintero, a native
Venezuelan, brings the fire and authenticity to the party.
“Samba da
Vela” appears later, continuing the South American travelogue with a trip to
Brazil. Guitarist Caio Afiune first played with Sands’ brother Ryan, a drummer
who studied at the New England Conservatory. Afiune has been playing with the
pianist for over a year now, finding his voice in the tight-knit ensemble. His
solo is an energetic but controlled centerpiece of the performance but becomes
even more effervescent when he heads to church.
“Church music is key in not just my sound but
most jazz musicians I look up to. It’s a culture that most of us have gone
through so it’s embedded in what we do,” says Sands. “Jazz can be a religious
experience and for me my playing is my gift to God.” Sands began formal lessons
at the age of four but picked up his sense of swing and soul at church well
before that. “Sunday Mornings” is Sands tribute to the beginning of the week.
He employs soulful clusters of chords and a lackadaisical slide off the beat,
aided and embedded by an oscillating organ. The transition to a backyard reggae
groove is hip, propelled by Afiune’s scratchy accents.
The lilting
“Her Song” features bassist Nakamura. “Yasushi has a great bass sound, great
facility and is always easy to work with, which is why he’s still in so many
other bands today besides mine,” says Sands. Regardless of Nakamura’s schedule,
he is fully committed to Sands’ vision of a rhythm section, a noble accent to
the sound, unobtrusive but always present. Jennings is equally sensitive. “What
I love about Romey” says Sands, “is the soulful intellect he brings to the
instrument. There are layers to what he does and that comes from study and
practice and also just being him – a true soul brother.”
The
album closes with “Rhodes to Meditation” featuring an electrified Sands
drifting into the ether. “The Fender Rhodes adds a different tone to my
imagination. It makes me hear and play different.” Sands evokes a spectral
world without borders, drifting off like a satellite towards the next
adventure. “Like all of my albums, I want people to feel connected through a story
that I’m telling. On this record, I want to remind people to always push
forward and move in positivity.”
Christian
Sands' Upcoming U.S. Performances:
August 2 /
Coral Gables Congregational United Church / Coral Gables, FL
August 11 /
Richmond Jazz Festival / Richmond, VA
September 3
/ Detroit Jazz Festival / Detroit, MI
September 21
/ Monterey Jazz Festival / Monterey, CA
September 29
/ Hyde Park Jazz Festival / Chicago, IL
October 12 /
Scullers Jazz Club / Boston, MA
October 19 /
Kuumbwa Jazz Club / San Jose, CA
October 20 /
SF Jazz Center / San Francisco, CA
October 22 /
Dimitriou's Jazz Alley / Seattle, WA
October 25 -
28 / Jazz Standard / New York, NY
November 2 /
Christina Cultural Arts Center / Wilmington, DE
November 3 /
Montgomery County Community College / Blue Bell, PA
November 7 /
Jazz Dock / Prague, Czech Republic
November 9 -
10 / Duc Des Lombards / Paris, France
November 11
/ Blue Note Milan / Milan, Italy
November 12
/ Opus Jazz Club / Budapest, Hungary
November 13
/ Unterfahrt / Munich, Germany
November 15
/ Club Bix / Stuttgart, Germany
November 16
/ Pizza Express / London, United Kingdom
November 17
/ Pizza Express / Maidstone, United Kingdom
2019 Dates:
January 23 /
McAfee Concert Hall @ Belmont University / Nashville, TN
February 2 /
Schambach Center - Wellin Hall / Clinton, NY
February 8 /
Black Rock Center for the Arts / Germantown, MD
February 9 /
Carnegie Hall / Lewisburg, WV
February 16
/ Phillips Center for the Performing Arts / Gainesville, FL
April 25 /
Frostburg State University - Manicur Ballroom / Frostburg, MD
Christian
Sands · Facing Dragons
Mack Avenue
Records · Release Date: September 21, 2018
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