Recent James Brandon Lewis Performance Reviewed

Source: 48 hills.

Last Friday night at SFJAZZ’s Joe Henderson Lab, James Brandon Lewis—saxophonist, composer, and CalArts graduate—led his power trio line-up into free jazz garage punk territory. The abstract, combustive forces gusting from the stage, sometimes accompanied by ambulance wail and fire truck lights shining through the room’s glass walls, peeled back the ears and minds of gray-haired visitors and dreadlocked art patrons alike. To chase energy, this triad ran it hard and quickly in this hour-long Noise Pop performance, showcasing a meteoric glimpse of where jazz can go, as preached by Lewis’ tenor saxophone.