JOE SANDERS' PARALLELS

About

Joe Sanders is an American bassist who has spent years as one of the more in demand players on the jazz circuit, working alongside the likes of Gerald Clayton, Kendrick Scott and Ben Wendel. His project Parallels grew out of a genuinely spontaneous moment: during a performance, an audience started singing along to one of his improvised solos, and that spark became the seed for the album. The record leans into contrast, pairing warm, singable melodies with experimental textures and shifting between darker moods and brighter ones. For the project Sanders gathered a strong cast around him. Tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake and alto saxophonist Logan Richardson trade space and push each other forward, and drummer Gregory Hutchinson rounds out the quartet. All three have substantial careers as bandleaders in their own right, which gives the group an unusually collective energy rather than a simple backing band feel.