BRANDON SANDERS

LASTING IMPRESSION

Savant Records

Brandon Sanders, drums/composer; Warren Wolf, vibraphone; Eric Scott Reed & Tyler Bullock, piano; Eric Wheeler & Ameen Saleem, bass; Stacy Dillard, tenor saxophone; Jazzmeia Horn, vocals.

Brandon Sanders was born in Kansas City but raised in Los Angeles.  Sanders was a late bloomer and didn’t start playing drums until age twenty-five. However, he was introduced to jazz early.  His grandmother ran a famed Kansas City nightclub where he found himself listening to the best of the best, including jazz stars like Grant Green and Lou Donaldson.  For a while, Sanders was a busy DJ in Compton, California.  He also played basketball at the University of Kansas. However, after graduation, Brandon Sanders found himself steeped in the compelling world of music. He dedicated himself to jazz shortly after graduating from KU, enrolling in Berklee College of Music, on a new career path.  His debut album was titled, “Compton’s Finest” and released in 2023.

Now based in New York City, his first album release made it clear that this determined drummer had both talent and resolve.

“I always want to make music that sticks with people. I’m not trying to show off my chops or my technical abilities. I just want to continue to tell the story of who I am as an artist and to make good music from start to finish,” Sanders writes in his press package.

In fact, his latest album release (Lasting Impression) is definitely great music from start to finish, just like the two albums he released before this one. Opening with a tune Bobby Hutcherson called “8/4 Beat,” this assembly of magical musicians sets the tone, from the first Straight-ahead slap of the Sanders drumsticks. Featuring the brilliant Warren Wolf on vibes, this tune also showcases the talented Stacy Dillard on tenor saxophone and the flying fingers of Eric Reed caressing the piano keys.  I’m hooked right from the first few minutes of their opening song.

Sanders has composed the title tune, ‘Lasting Impression” and it swings hard from top to bottom. Right away, I fell in love with the bebop melodic structure of this Sander’s tune. His ensemble plays every note with warmth, energy and camaraderie.

“Whether I was playing basketball or playing the drums, it meant getting up at 5 or 6 o’clock and practicing all day.  I still feel like I’m catching up with the great drummers who have been doing this all their lives like Lewis Nash, Kenny Washington or Willie Jones,” Sanders shares his determination to be the best he can be. Speaking of Willie Jones III, he has been the producer on all three of the Brandon Sanders albums.

“I feel that Willie Jones is like Dr. Dre or Quincy Jones when it comes to producing music,” Sanders heaps praise upon the Los Angeles native and dynamic drummer/producer who has helped propel the Brandon Sanders career forward.

The addition of one of my favorite young jazz vocalists, Jazzmeia Horn, is the whipped cream on a rich and sweet musical project, enjoyable and inspired from beginning to end.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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