James Brandon Lewis

Born in Buffalo, New York, in 1983, James Brandon Lewis has built a career at the intersection of African-American heritage, composition and improvisation. Trained at Howard University and the California Institute of the Arts, he initially worked in gospel before moving to New York in 2012 and grounding his practice in contemporary jazz. His tenor sax playing articulates tight melodic lines, rhythmic drive and more open spaces, in an aesthetic that crosses post-bop, free jazz and traces of spiritual music. After Moments (2010), he released Divine Travels (2014), Days of FreeMan (2015) and An Unruly Manifesto (2019), establishing his presence on New York’s creative jazz scene. He leads formats ranging from trios to larger ensembles and has worked with Chad Taylor, Aruan Ortiz and the Red Lily Quintet, heard on Jesup Wagon (2021) and For Mahalia, with Love (2023). In 2024 he expanded his scope with The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis, before releasing Apple Cores in 2025.