First Friday: Brandon Sanders

About This Event

FREE ADMISSION!

Chris Lewis-tenor sax, Luther Allison-piano, Eric Wheeler-bass, Brandon Sanders-drums

“You may not hear a more tasteful, delightfully hard-swinging jazz album in 2023 than drummer Brandon Sanders’ debut, Compton’s Finest.”
– AllMusic

“Brandon Sanders, a Harlem favorite, is a swinging drummer who always establishes a good feel for whatever group he’s playing with.”
– Drummer Lewis Nash

As far as drummer Brandon Sanders is concerned, everyone should have a grandmother who runs a jazz club. It was at the Casablanca, his grandmother’s boite in Kansas City, that he was first exposed to the music that changed his life. During summer visits from his home in Los Angeles in the mid-1970s through the late ’80s, young Brandon not only encountered the music of such greats as Jimmy Smith, Grant Green, and Lou Donaldson, he also learned about their lives from the stories his grandma told him.

At 52, Sanders may be long removed from those formative days, but on his splendid debut album, Compton’s Finest, the influence of his grandmother, Ernestine Parker, can be detected in his stylistic foray into bop tradition and his ease with iconic tunes like “Body and Soul” and “Monk’s Dream.” The album may be the work of a late bloomer, but its emotional depth is the mark of a seasoned veteran.

Come in to The Nash for a cold drink and some great jazz before tackling the rest of the First Friday attractions on Roosevelt Row.