James Brandon Lewis is one of the modern titans of the tenor.  He’s received accolades from mainstream cultural tastemakers such as Ebony Magazine who hailed him as one of “7 Young Players to Watch,” and earned the respect of a diverse cross-section of esteemed artists.  James has worked with such intrepid artists as Weather Report bassist Alphonso Johnson, William Parker, Gerald Cleaver, Charles Gayle, Marilyn Crispell, Ken Filiano, Cooper Moore, Darius Jones, and Sabir Mateen.  In addition, he has collaborated with the dance company CircuitDebris under the direction of Mersiha Mesihovic.  James attended Howard University and holds an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts.

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James Brandon Lewis Trio

560 Music Center

The Messthetics are an instrumental trio from Washington, DC, Featuring Fugazi's rhythm section-Joe Lally (bass) and Brendan Canty (drums)-with guitarist Anthony Pirog. Since forming in 2018, they've toured widely and released two albums on Dischord Records. In 2023, they joined forces with saxophonist James Brandon Lewis for an album on Impulse Records. Their live shows remain fiery, spontaneous, and a testament to their dedication to the performance experience.

Messthetics with James Brandon Lewis

Krannert Center for the Performing Arts

In 2021, the saxophonist and composer James Brandon Lewis had a career breakthrough with his 10th album, The Jesup Wagon. Inspired by the mobile agricultural education efforts of inventor George Washington Carver, the song cycle was hailed by critics for its dreamlike mosaic of gospel, folk-blues and catcalling brass bands. It was named Album of the Year at Jazz Times and DownBeat and a bunch of international jazz magazines, and it established Lewis as one of the provocative musical voices of his generation.

James Brandon Lewis’ Red Lily Quintet

Monterey County Fairgrounds

Guitarist extraordinaire Marc Ribot follows his muse wherever it leads, resulting in a career path that has ranged across free jazz and no wave, rock and Cuban rumba. In some circles he’s best known as a key collaborator with singular artists such as Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, John Zorn, Diana Krall, and Robert Plant and Alison Krauss (contributing to their 2007 hit album Raising Sand).

The last time the mind-bogglingly eclectic checked into the SFJAZZ Center he played eight solo shows in the JHL, alternating between freely improvised sets, extended medleys of Haitian-American composer Frantz Casseus, Cuban maestro Arsenio Rodríguez and John Coltrane, and his gorgeous score for the 1924 Soviet silent film Aelita: Queen of Mars.

Marc Ribot 70th Birthday Celebration

SFJAZZ Center

Groundtone weekend’s second evening is set aflame with this powerhouse group. Seamlessly weaving between punk rock to free jazz and funk, these masters of their respective genres fuse effortlessly and their chemistry is contagious.

James Brandon Lewis

Events

Upcoming events

Jun 19, 2026

The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis · PS21 : Center for Contemporary Performance

Past events

Apr 10, 2026

James Brandon Lewis Trio · Washington University in St. Louis Department of Music

Sep 4, 2025

Messthetics with James Brandon Lewis · Krannert Center for the Performing Arts

About

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