James Brandon Lewis

The Buffalo-born Lewis spent his formative time at Howard University working with Geri Allen, Wallace Roney, and Benny Golson before eventually landing at CalArts, where his studies with the late Charlie Haden and Wadada Leo Smith cemented his inclinations as a seeker. He released his debut Moments in 2010, setting him on his path as a bandleader and composer.
Four increasingly audacious albums followed, recorded with a multi-generational array of masters including veteran bassist William Parker, electric bass luminary Jamaladeen Tacuma, drummer Chad Taylor, and the late trumpet genius jaime branch, leading to Lewis’s 2020 career breakthrough, The Jesup Wagon.

Eye and I marks Lewis’ first project with this new high-energy trio that brings a sharp, stripped-down focus to his work, charting new lands on a voyage that is just beginning.