DOORS @6PM, SHOWTIME @7PM
CHRISTIAN SANDS — Steinway Artist and five-time Grammy Nominee — is an emerging jazz force. His abundant piano technique perfectly matches his conception, accomplishing a much deeper musical goal: a fresh look at the entire language of jazz. Christian says, “My music is about teaching the way of jazz and keeping it alive.” Whether it’s stride, swing, bebop, progressive, fusion, Brazilian or Afro-Cuban, Sands develops the past while providing unusual and stimulating vehicles for the present… and for the future. He expresses himself through an extensive vocabulary of patterns, textures and structures, all the while maintaining a strong sense of understatement, sensitivity, taste and swing — hallmarks for as long as he has been playing.
Pianist/composer Christian Sands’ cinematic approach to popular holiday classics takes center stage with Christmas Stories, his first album since his critically acclaimed, GRAMMY® nominated 2020 release Be Water. Having performed in-demand Christmas shows at Jazz at Lincoln Center and around the world, Sands offers such classics as “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “Silent Night,” “Jingle Bells,” and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” as well as a few surprises. Joining the NAACP Image Award nominee are vibraphonist Stefon Harris, saxophonist Jimmy Greene, guitarists Max Light and Marvin Sewell, bassist Yasushi Nakamura, percussionist Keita Ogawa, and drummer Ryan Sands.
Since arriving on the scene, Sands has shared the stage with such jazz luminaries as Wynton Marsalis, Diane Reeves, Shelia E, Warren Wolf, Tia Fuller, Gary Burton, Stefan Harris, Teri Lynne Carrington, Jason Moran, Geri Allen, Ben Williams, Randy Brecker, Steve Johns, Avery Sharpe, James Moody, Bill Evans (sax), Russell Malone, Terrance Blanchard, Louis Hayes, Patti Austin, Marcus Baylor, Craig Handy, Carl Allen, Kirk Whalum, and Wycliffe Gordon.
The power and prowess of his playing has taken him from the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., to the world renowned Newport Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Detroit Jazz Festival, to New York’s celebrated jazz clubs such as the Village Vanguard, Jazz Standard, Blue Note and Dizzy’s Club; to international jazz clubs all over the world.
From a very early age, Christian possessed an insatiable appetite for music. He was enrolled in music classes at age 4 and wrote his first composition at age 5. He started playing professionally at the age of 10, and studied at the Neighborhood Music School and the Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven, CT. He received his Bachelor of Arts and Masters degrees from the Manhattan School of Music. For his participation on the MSM “Kenya Revisited” album, Sands received a Grammy Nomination for Best Latin Piano Solo.
His meteoric rise in the jazz world already includes performances with the legendary Oscar Peterson and Dr. Billy Taylor. He met Dr. Billy Taylor at the Jazz in July program in 2006, and formed an immediate connection. Dr. Taylor dubbed him his protégé, and Christian has followed in his mentor’s footsteps by encouraging, inspiring and advocating for the preservation and history of jazz. He teaches and promotes the passion and richness of jazz to young people as well as to mature audiences. In 2015 he started the Jazz Kids of Montmartre in Copenhagen, Denmark, and he also teaches at Jazz in July, where he is an alumnus.