De Amerikaanse saxofonist Lewis is uiterst productief. Daarbij is hij wat je noemt een rasmuzikant met een zeer eigen geluid. Zijn gevarieerde werk wordt voor alles gekenmerkt door kwaliteit en originaliteit. Hij werkt steevast per album met verschillende muzikanten. Het min of meer ‘klassiek’ klinkende album Abstraction Is Deliverance maakte hij met zijn eigen kwartet. Curieuze titel, maar geen wonder: Lewis is redelijk thuis in de (continentale) filosofie! Het album biedt acht eigen composities en een cover. Ik noem hier ter illustratie van dat klassieke de openingstrack Ware, een tribuut aan saxofonist David Ware waarop we vooral ook de invloed van Coltrane horen. Op de track Mr. Click gebeurt iets vergelijkbaars, al was daar Sonny Rollins de inspiratie.
Behoorlijk anders is de sound op het tweede album dat Lewis dit jaar maakte met de postpunkers van The Messthetics, zo’n twee jaar na hun eerste samenwerking. Dat ‘post’ kun je overigens gerust schrappen. De ritmesectie staat hoe dan ook als een huis. Bas en drums creëren op schitterende wijze ruimte voor de sax van Lewis, iets dat toch net wat beter lukt dan op hun eerste album. Zoveel is duidelijk: de freejazz van Lewis, in welke bezetting dan ook, is weergaloos!

Abstraction Is Deliverance, saxophonist James Brandon Lewis' fifth album with his well-established quartet — Aruán Ortiz (piano), Brad Jones (bass) and Chad Taylor (drums) — finds the leader in a solemn state, rendering songs that clearly connect him to the lineage of tenor saxophonists John Coltrane and Albert Ayler, but largely without the occasional associated histrionics and instead leaning toward balladic expression. Displaying emotional depth, Lewis sounds as superb and grounded as ever. This album also continues his longstanding, mellifluous partnership with Taylor, in particular: the drummer shines as the often-contrapuntal element in the midst of near-meditative harmonies.
Album opener "Ware" is a Love Supreme-ish paean to the late saxophonist David S. Ware, whose spiritual free jazz influenced Lewis. The song structure is reminiscent of Coltrane's classic composition and work of that time, especially in the sturdy, melodic bass work by Jones. The saxophonist's flowing cadences continue on "Per 7", where his interplay with Ortiz is noticeably striking. Taylor's superbly-recorded (subdued but effective) Caribbean mallet work augments the pensive piece that dovetails with "Remember Rosalind", which calls to mind the luxurious work of Keith Jarrett's European Quartet with saxophonist Jan Garbarek. The title cut is a departure; with the drummer's animated pounding, Lewis and Ortiz commence on a neo-classical melody that evolves into the album's most spirited display, as if the trio decided that Taylor's agitated percussion offered a preferable context. As it turns out, the beginning is the "abstraction," while the middle part is the "deliverance" that eventually returns to the forefront, still attached to its beat guru. It also foreshadows the most abstract number, "Multicellular Beings", where this utterly comfortable band delivers a short lesson on group improvisation.
Demonstrating its versatility, the quartet proceeds into "Mr. Crick", a pleasing modal blues, before playing a rendition of Mal Waldron and Billie Holiday's "Left Alone", wherein Lewis sensitively 'sings' Holiday's part as Jones' arco and Taylor's mallets provide a darker layer before Ortiz chimes in with McCoy Tyner-esque commentary. Ortiz' lovely intro is featured in the closer, "Polaris", atop which Lewis plays a heart-rending passage prefacing the piano trio's garrulous interlude, with the leader and his friends moving back-and-forth until the end.
On Abstraction Is Deliverance, one of 2025's best albums, the James Brandon Lewis Quartet evinces significant rapport and instrumental command, rendering a flawless collection that rewards relistening, over and over again.

Moody, contemplative and gorgeously expressive, Abstraction Is Deliverance is the work of a quartet that deserves its place in the front rank of contemporary creative music.

With the exception of the title piece — the album’s most aggressive performance, featuring high-level interplay and an extremely powerful saxophone component — this is a dark-hued work that’s both eloquent and emotive. Displaying roots that extend from modalism to melodicism that echoes the impressionism of Debussy and Ravel, the band’s fifth outing stakes its place among the best recordings of this decade.

The opening “Ware” illuminates the lineage from Newk and Trane to the titular David S. Ware with a fervid rhythmic underpinning and Lewis’ meditative lead, while “Remember Rosalind” layers a winsome melody over Chad Taylor’s slowly churning accompaniment.

The oft-recorded “Left Alone” drifts on Taylor’s reiterative foundation and Brad Jones’ resonant toms, providing fertile ground for Lewis’ rich exposition of the Billie Holiday/Mal Waldron melody.

Above all, this is a band that appreciates texture. “Multicellular Beings” and “Per 7” are both prime examples of how these four can shift their traditional roles to build performances that seem so purpose-built that listeners may mistake them for through-composed work.

Over the course of its five recordings, Lewis’ quartet has grown into the one of the most eloquent improvising groups in recent history. They appear to be transforming their 41-year-old Swiss boutique label the way John Coltrane did for Impulse! in the ’60s.

https://downbeat.com/news/detail/the-5-star-new-releases

Two saxophone-centred quartet sessions are either directly dedicated to influential deceased musicians or do so with inference. Yet both transcend admiration to appropriateness, by substituting original compositions for musical replicational. Coastline is the more obvious homage of the two since French multi-reedist Matthieu Donarier only plays soprano saxophone on seven tunes celebrating Steve Lacy’s influence. Abstraction is Deliverance is a bit differences because American tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis only dedicates the eponymously title “Ware” to the late David S. Ware and also performs his version of Mal Waldron’s classic “Left Alone”. However the instrumentation of his quartet and his improvisational intensity also reflect the spirit of John Coltrane, a Ware influence who also recorded with Waldron and played some of his compositions.

Donarier, who has recorded with everyone from Alban Darche to Jean-Jacques Birge, is a veteran Gallic stylist, and his associates, with whom he often plays, are equally experienced. Bassist Stéphane Kerecki has worked with figures as different as Daniel Humair and Ralph Alessi, while husband-and-wife pianist Sophia Domancich and drummer Simon Goubert have worked with the likes of Sylvain Kassap, Paul Dunmall, Hélène Labarrière and Michel Edelin.

Thus it’s no surprise that interludes exist where each move upfront for introductions and solos. Gouber’s sympathetic pacing of drum shuffles and cymbal sizzles balances expositions throughout; Kerecki’s in-the-moment stops and pulse do likewise; while Domancich keyboard versatility is highlighted at greatest length on the consecutive “Peebles” and “The Hidden Ones”. On the first she harmonizes the saxophonist’s Lacy-like vibrato with processed runs and projections, then turns to double toned expressive extensions before leading back to the head. On “The Hidden Ones” her sound is both nearly notated formal and single note pounding percussive as she integrates double bass thumps and Donarier’s elevated sax flattement into cohesive and cooperative reed squeals.

Double-tonguing at high pitches on a track like “Whim Wham’, with the pianist tinkling her keys beside him, Donarier is able to move tempos from andante to allegro with no loss of momentum or space, A walking bass pattern and keyboard stabs help insure that his subsequent squeaks and flutters cement the theme with no empty spaces. These connections are maintained throughout if his playing involves twists and turns to more dissonant puffs and screeches or as on “Ebb Tide” the original tune which is neither the Maxwell-Sigman or Robin-Rainger pop hit. On it, and mated with double-bass strokes and cymbal clips, his tone sounds closer to Paul Desmond than Lacy and as Donarier piles darker notes and then Goubert a drum roll into the tune, they confirm the quartet’s originality.

There’s no disputing the originality of Brandon Lewis and his quartet. Now together for years, the members are respected in there own rights as well as part of this group, which in instrumentation and skills can be compared to the classic Coltrane quartet. Cuban pianist Aruán Ortiz also records on his own; drummer Chad Taylor has played with the likes of Jason Stein and Joe McPhee, while bassist Brad Jones has worked with everyone from Dave Douglas to David Murray.

Key tracks which demonstrate the breadth of the quartet are “Remember Rosalind” and the title tune. The first, somewhat balladic, depends on piano-reed harmonies and opens up with breathy tongue-stopping sax trills and Ortiz’s sympathetic comping. As the tune is exoticized with upwards reed slurs and downwards scoops, the note-bending stops and keyboard switching between wide glissandi and single-note emphasis, drum accents help set the mood. On the other hand, “Abstraction is Deliverance” lives up to its name as low-pitch snarky chording from the pianist and a heavy drum beat stretches the exposition until it almost reaches New Thing atonality. That’s further emphasized as Brandon Lewis stretches piles of notes through the bar lines emphasizing similar patterns over and over with slight variations. The climax occurs as a delicate harpsichord-like figure underlines emphasized droning breaths from the saxophonist.

“Left Alone” is given a properly extended and magisterial reading with arco bass buzzes, woody drum pats, keyboard clanks and a solid reed line. Other tunes are lively and light fingered with sophisticated harmonic references and Taylor expressing rumbles and cymbal slides in equal measure. Others take the saxophone impression past mainstream as he sometimes blows unaccented air through the horn, echoes split tones or clenched flutters. Diversity is also emphasized on “Mr. Crick”, which first emphasizes swing as a walking Blues before expressive tangents settle on impressionistic piano slides as the saxist extends the narrative with squeak, stops and shrills. “Ware” may be the strangest piece however. Rather then over...

James Brandon Lewis is de laatste jaren een zeer aanwezige muzikant die aan de lopende band muziek uitbrengt, maar hij blijft me boeien: vrij zonder oeverloos te worden, spiritueel zonder al te zweverig te worden en krachtig zonder schreeuwerig te worden.

Ce n’est pas la première fois que j’énonce le nom de John Coltrane à propos de James Brandon Lewis, non pas sur le terrain des centaines ou milliers de saxophonistes qui “jouent comme Coltrane” (ou essaient), mais au niveau global de son quartette régulier qui fonctionne aujourd’**** exactement comme celui, naguère, du défunt géant du jazz. Nous sommes totalement dans le même esprit, sur la même longueur. On peut considérer que cette musique a 60 ans ou qu’elle date de la semaine dernière, cela n’a aucune importance. John Coltrane appartenait encore à une époque où les grands chefs de file afro-américains indiquaient les directions majeures dans une histoire jazz encore en train de se faire. À présent il y a autant de chefs que de files, de chapelles, de niches comme on dit, et chacun s’y retrouve comme il peut selon ses goûts et connaissances. Inutile donc de tenter des comparaisons formelles à l’écoute d’une musique peut-être moins tendue, moins dans la transe. De même que les neuf très belles compositions personnelles du leader sont plus écrites, plus cadrées, avec des structures plus resserrées. Je n’en démords pas ; n’ayant découvert le quartette de John Coltrane qu’au moment de sa mort, celui de James B. Lewis, est “mon Coltrane” comme Aruán Ortiz est mon McCoy Tyner, Brad Jones mon Jimmy Garrison et Chad Taylor mon Elvin Jones, et cela fait mon bonheur aujourd’****.

https://culturejazz.fr/spip.php?article4429#outil_sommaire

Here is a track from one of the year's most acclaimed musicians, James Brandon Lewis, who, as of late, doesn't just land in the best-of lists—he takes up multiple slots.

From Abstraction Is Deliverance (Intakt Records) —featuring Lewis' tightly-knit quartet with Aruán Ortiz on piano, Brad Jones on bass and Chad Taylor on drums —"Ware" is a deeply felt tribute to David S. Ware—a giant saluted by a new giant of the tenor saxophone, fully aware of the past as he forges the future.

https://www.allaboutjazz.com/james-brandon-lewis-ware-play-this

The HOT Box , August 2025

Lewis’ strongest statement on wax yet. He and his quartet power the music with passion, pur
pose and propulsion.

The HOT Box , August 2025

Lewis’ “molecular systematic music” Quartet can threaten to smother creativity with its involved
thematics but on their latest record they sink into a slower register, playing through beautiful
ballads and downtempo, fractal melodies with a signature deftness of touch. A complex album
that is a joy to encounter.

The HOT Box , August 2025

Lewis delivers his abstractions with an erudite restraint and formality. Many early and mid-Col
trane modalities, some infused with restless passion but more with a relaxed, evenhanded
caution, allowing the listener to project any transcendence.