CHRISTIAN SANDS

The Steinway Artist and Grammy Nominee is an emerging jazz force. His abundant piano technique perfectly matches his conception, accomplishing a much deeper musical goal: a fresh look at the entire language of jazz.  Christian says, “My music is about teaching the way of jazz and keeping it alive.”  Whether it’s stride, swing, bebop, progressive, fusion, Brazilian or Afro-Cuban, Sands develops the past while providing unusual and stimulating vehicles for the present… and for the future.  He expresses himself through an extensive vocabulary of patterns, textures and structures, all the while maintaining a strong sense of understatement, sensitivity, taste and swing — hallmarks for as long as he has been playing.

From a very early age, Christian possessed an insatiable appetite for music.  He was enrolled in music classes at age 4 and wrote his first composition at age 5.  He started playing professionally at the age of 10, and studied at the Neighborhood Music School and the Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven, CT.  He received his Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Arts degrees from the Manhattan School of Music.  For his participation on the MSM “Kenya Revisited” album, Sands received a Grammy Nomination for Best Latin Piano Solo.

Since arriving on the scene, Sands has shared the stage with many jazz luminaries as Wynton Marsalis, Diane Reeves, Shelia E, Warren Wolf, Tia Fuller, Gary Burton, Stefan Harris, Teri Lynne Carrington, Jason Moran, Geri Allen, James Moody, Bill Evans (sax), Russell Malone, Terrance Blanchard, Louis Hayes, Patti Austin, Kurt Elling and Dee Dee Bridgewater.  He served as the Creative Ambassador for the Erroll Garner foundation, Artist in Residence for Jazz in July Education program at University of Massachusetts, Artist in Residence for Monterey Jazz Festival for 2020-2022 – he was the Creative Director for the ‘Monterey Festival Band on Tour’ 2022-2023.

Christian provides a soulful melodic touch on S. Epatha Merkerson’s documentary, “Contradictions of Fairhope,” a soundtrack recorded with McBride and a melodic piano introduction to Netflix’s Biopic documentary “Rustin” of which he recorded with Branford Marsalis.  He was named one of the future rising stars by Wynton Marsalis in Jet Magazine.  Vanity Fair’s “Jazz Youth-Quake” also named him as a future jazz star.  He was finalist for the 2015 Cole Porter Jazz Fellowship Award sponsored by the America Pianist Association.

Just embarking on his 30s, Sands has already enjoyed a remarkable career trajectory including a 2013 Grammy nomination with renowned Bassist Christian McBride and 2021 Grammy Nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Composition and 52nd Annual NAACP Image Award Nominee for Outstanding Jazz Album Instrumental for his third album “Be Water” recording for Mack Avenue Records.

His music has taken him to many international stages.  In 2023 he received Chevalier de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, rank of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters, from France Minister of Culture.

The Band:

Christian Sands – bandleader, pianist

Ryan Sands – Drummer

Gilad Hekelsman – Guitar

Scott Colley – Bass

Cover: $40.61 ~ $50.91 | Including Fees

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KALEB KIRBY

The band comes together for a vibrant tribute to the legendary John Scofield. From groove-heavy electric moments to intimate acoustic explorations, the ensemble reimagines Scofield’s career-spanning work with deep respect and fearless creativity.

Drawing from his collaborations with Miles Davis, Medeski Martin & Wood, and his own celebrated ensembles, the program showcases the expressive range and rhythmic ingenuity that define Scofield’s voice—bridging tradition and innovation through bold interplay and dynamic sound.

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JOSHUA REDMAN QUARTET

Joshua Redman is one of the most acclaimed and charismatic jazz artists to have emerged in the decade of the 1990s. The early influences of John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Cannonball Adderley, and his father, Dewey Redman, as well as The Beatles, Aretha Franklin, the Temptations, Earth, Wind and Fire, Prince, The Police, and Led Zeppelin drew Joshua more deeply into music.

After graduating from Harvard College with a B.A. in Social Studies, he had already been accepted by Yale Law School, but deferred entrance for what he believed was only going to be one year to join friends in Brooklyn. Redman almost immediately found himself immersed in the New York jazz scene. In November 1991, five months after moving to New York, Redman was named the winner of the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition.

Joshua Redman ~ saxophone
Paul Cornish ~ piano
Larry Grenadier ~ bass
Nazir Ebo ~ drums

Cover: $55.00 ~ $65.00

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DONALD HARRISON QUARTET

2022 NEA Jazz Master Big Chief Donald Harrison is a musician/composer dedicated to mastering every era of jazz, soul, and funk and composing orchestral classical music. He has been called a “One man music festival” because his performances cover the history of music and show his knowledge of many styles is the basis for his innovations.

According to geniuses Eddie Palmieri, Nicholas Payton, Carl Allen, and Mike Clark, he is a genius. Harrison is the recognized Big Chief of Congo Square in Afro-New Orleans culture, where he keeps alive one of the root contributors cultures to Traditional jazz. Harrison is also the innovator of three influential jazz styles, including a modern jazz twist to New Orleans’ second-line music that blends classic jazz with hip-hop, funk, and soul music, called “Nouveau Swing.”

Big Chief Donald Harrison | also saxophone & vocals
Dan Kaufman | piano
Brian Richburg | drums
Nori Naraoka | bass

Cover: $15.00 ~ $45.00 +fee

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PIECES OF A DREAM

The group was formed in Philadelphia during 1976 by bassist Cedric Napoleon, drummer Curtis Harmon, and keyboardist James Lloyd who were all teenagers at the time. The group based their name on “Pieces of Dreams”, a Michel Legrand tune recorded by Stanley Turrentine that they regularly performed. In 1981 Pieces of a Dream had a minor soul hit with “Warm Weather” with vocals by singer Barbara Walker and synthesizer by Dexter Wansel, which was recorded on Elektra Records and co-produced by Dexter Wansel. In late 1983, the group had their most successful single, “Fo-Fi-Fo”, which peaked at No. 13 on the US soul chart. During their time with Elektra Records from 1981 to 1983, the group’s first three albums were produced by saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr.

Over the course of their nearly 50 year career they have released twenty albums, the last of which was Fired Up in 2021 and the final recording session for bassist Cedric A. Napoleon who died in June 2024. They have never lost their heat!

Cover: $70.25

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