JAMES BRANDON LEWIS TRIO RELEASES NEW ALBUM
‘APPLE CORES’ TODAY
EUROPEAN TOUR BEGINS TONIGHT,
BROOKLYN + LOS ANGELES DATES IN EARLY MARCH
Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez
“Beefy-toned US tenorist freaks out in post-rock settings” – UNCUT
“Drawn from improvised sessions with long-term foils Chad Taylor and Josh Werner in cryptic tribute to Don Cherry, the bare-bones magic of “Don’t Forget Jane” and “Of Mind and Feeling” proves Lewis’s capacity for generating uplifting melodies matches the brawn of his solos.” – MOJO, ****
“One of the biggest voices in experimental jazz … Along with intuition and influence, Lewis’s music is informed by a vast well of sources that imbues his music with meaning. His fascination with other art forms, for example, also has a lasting effect on his sound.” – The Line of Best Fit
His sixteenth album, today New York City’s James Brandon Lewis Trio releases ‘Apple Cores’, a record that further cements Lewis as one of the most provocative and prolific musical voices of his generation. It follows his breakthrough with Downbeat Magazine’s Album of the Year ‘Jesup Wagon’ (2021), a dreamlike mosaic of gospel, folk-blues and catcalling brass bands inspired by inventor George Washington Carver, and ‘Eye Of I’ (2023), his joyous and exploratory debut for ANTI-.
Lewis continues to challenge his peers and the listener on ‘Apple Cores’ to keep jazz’s long and storied history close to our hearts and minds. By doing this, we can keep the innovations of our forebears alive, enriching our present-day experiences along the way. Listen to the album in full HERE.
‘Apple Cores’ takes its name and intention from the column that poet and jazz theorist Amiri Baraka wrote for DownBeat in the 1960s. In addition to Baraka, the influence of another jazz giant looms mightily over ‘Apple Cores’: trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist Don Cherry. In a testament to Cherry’s influence over the music that the trio is playing, Lewis designed each song title as a cryptogram of sorts, making subtle references to Cherry’s life and music.
“The record itself is a nod to Amiri but mainly a nod to Don Cherry, using Amiri as a branch to really get the conversation going,” Lewis explains. “It’s not a tribute in the sense that we’re playing Don Cherry compositions, but that the music is commenting on his musical curiosity.”
Recently named their Rising Star as both Artist of the Year and Composer of the Year, Downbeat declared: “James Brandon Lewis does not take the easy road. Having forged a singular sound on the tenor saxophone, he could simply devise settings that showcase his brawny tone. Instead, he has rooted his recent music in extramusical research.”
Lewis begins a run of European dates today alongside The Messthetics, kicking things off tonight in Dublin. Then in early March the trio will perform in both Los Angeles and Brooklyn before returning to Europe in April. All upcoming dates are listed below.
TOUR DATES
February 7 – Dublin, Ireland @ Grand Social
February 8 – Belfast, United Kingdom @ The Black Box
February 10 – Glasgow, United Kingdom @ Nice N Sleazy
February 11 – Manchester, United Kingdom @ Yes
February 12 – Birmingham, United Kingdom @ The Hare And Hounds
February 13 – Nottingham, United Kingdom @ Boat Club
February 14 – Bristol, United Kingdom @ The Lantern
February 15 – Lewes, United Kingdom @ Lewes Con Club
February 16 – London, United Kingdom @ 100 Club
March 3 – Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon
March 6 – Brooklyn, NY @ Public Records
March 7 – Chicago, IL @ Constellation
April 26 – Paris, France @ Maison de la Radio Studio 104
April 27 – Cologne, Germany @ Stadtgarten
April 28 – Brno, Czech Republic @ Cabare des Peches
April 29 – Vienna, Austria @ Porgy & Bess
April 30 – San Sebastian, Spain @ Victoria Eugenia Club
May 2 – Barcelona, Spain @ El Molino
May 3 – London, UK @ Vortex
May 7 – Tilburg, Netherlands @ Paradox
May 8 – Liege, Belgium @ Jazz A Liege Festival
Order ‘Apple Cores’
1. Apple Cores #1
2. Prince Eugene
3. Five Spots to Caravan
4. Of Mind and Feeling
5. Apple Cores #2
6. Remember Brooklyn & Moki
7. Broken Shadows
8. D.C. Got Pockets
9. Apple Cores #3
10. Don’t Forget Jayne
11. Exactly, Our Music