Christian Sands

A standard-bearer for a new generation of jazz pianists, Christian Sands is already an emerging force with five Grammy nominations at age 28. His stylistic range includes everything from stride piano and swing to be-bop, progressive jazz, fusion, Brazilian, and Afro-Cuban.  It was this versatility plus his infectious energy and spirit that caught the attention of his mentor, the renowned bassist Christian McBride, with whom he toured for six years with his Insight Straight band. Sands struck gold on his own in 2016 with release of his first trio CD Reach, which spent four weeks at the top of the Billboard Jazz Charts, and includes both originals and covers. Sands started playing the piano at the age of four (and professionally at ten) and expresses himself through an extensive vocabulary of patterns, textures, and structures, which The New York  Times called “groove-drenched, gospelly and smartly plotted—a  balance of physical body and electric charge”. Only recently, he has been selected to supervise the recording legacy of Erroll Garner, succeeding the late Gerri Allen, and will return to McCarter in April 2019 as Music Director of the Monterey Jazz Festival On Tour ensemble.