Jul 22, 2026 12:37 PM
In Memoriam: Rodney Holmes, 1966–2026
Drummer Rodney Holmes, a powerful presence behind the kit who emerged as an in-demand player on the New York scene…
The title of Christian Sands’ album Be Water nods to a quote by martial arts star Bruce Lee.
(Photo: Anna Webber)Despite its disparate parts, the album coalesces around the theme of flexibility but without assaulting the listener with the high concept behind it. Most provocatively, the program includes the ambitious track “Be Water II,” which gracefully merges a piano trio with a highly textured string quartet, performing an arrangement written by Sands’ former MSM peer Miho Hazama.
“I wrote it as a piano sonata for students to practice movement,” Sands explained. “I’m a big fan of Mozart, and I’ve always loved certain things about his music, like his arpeggios. So, I was playing this piece, trying to figure out what to do for this next album, and I was like, ‘Can I put a string quartet on there?’ A lot of things I come up with are from the question of why. I decided to just keep it there and further it along, and Miho immediately came to mind.”
For Hazama, there’s irony in having her old friend turn to her for the kind of string arrangements in a jazz setting that has become her calling card: She credits Sands with determining her career path.
“He was a year behind me at MSM,” Hazama said. “When I got to New York, I still had plans to become a jazz pianist, rather than just a composer and arranger. But then I heard him play—just jamming before classes one day. His technique and groove were so phenomenal, and his playing was so organic that he made me rethink my plans. I knew, given my background as a classical pianist in Japan, that I could never achieve that.”
Among the elements that made Hazama recognize Sands as not just another young keyboard hotshot with loads of technique was his ability to draw color from the piano.
“A lot of jazz players just work on their technique and don’t focus on tone, but he gets that,” she said. “I used to have my ‘dream sound’ in my head and be able to play it in the classical setting. He plays that dream sound, those tone colors. It’s sophisticated and sexy. He has a very strong core in his body, so he can use less power in his playing yet draw out these very thick notes.”
Aside from his playing, Hazama also remembers being impressed with Sands’ outlook at MSM.
“He was always reaching out to classical students to learn specific things,” she said. “That’s such a wonderful attitude as an artist.”
“Most jazz musicians, especially when they’re young, are musical tourists,” said Sanabria, who was one of Sands’ mentors at MSM. “They look at things at a superficial level. They think they can learn a style of music like Afro-Cuban by just learning patterns. Christian got involved in the culture. He didn’t want to be a tourist. He wasn’t on an ego trip; he was very poised, polished and enthusiastic, which I think is a reflection of his work with Dr. Billy Taylor.”
Like Hazama, Sanabria recalled first hearing Sands at MSM, and his own reaction.
“He was assigned to my Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra,” Sanabria said. “At the first rehearsal, I heard these young guys, and said to myself, ‘Holy shit.’ Right then was when I decided to do those albums with them. I got him the Tito Puente Scholarship to study with Sonny Bravo, one of the true giants of Latin music, and he was able to really get inside that heavily percussive style of playing, as well as being able to play bebop with a really fast, light touch.”
If there’s an overarching motif to Sands’ career to this point, it’s his ability to astound listeners when they first hear him. Strickland is no exception.
“We were on a [bassist] Ben Williams gig together about five years ago, and the first thing I noticed was how young he looked,” Strickland said. “I was like, ‘Man, this guy looks like a baby,’ but he played like a grown man. It was very impressive to see someone his age have so much knowledge, and I’ve seen him grow so much since then.”
A drummer’s drummer, Rodney Holmes gigged with everyone from Joe Zawinul and Carlos Santana to Steve Kimock and the Brecker Brothers.
Jul 22, 2026 12:37 PM
Drummer Rodney Holmes, a powerful presence behind the kit who emerged as an in-demand player on the New York scene…
Clockwise from top left, Mary Halvorson, Patricia Brennan, Adam O’Farrill, Keith Jarrett’s At the Deer Head Inn: The Complete Recordings, Sheila Jordan and Jaki Byard.
Jul 16, 2026 1:34 PM
The DownBeat Critics Poll never ceases to amaze! And the 74th Edition offered plenty of accolades for poll veterans and…
Ibrahim was an early jazz acolyte, studying the music via 78s he would buy from soldiers stationed in South Africa — who also gave him the nickname “Dollar.”
Jun 30, 2026 3:19 PM
Pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, the NEA Jazz Master from South Africa who helped fuse the folk music of his home country with…
Percussionist Poncho Sanchez was among the artists scheduled to perform at the now-canceled inaugural LA Jazz Festival.
Aug 11, 2026 12:53 PM
The inaugural LA Jazz Festival, originally scheduled to run Aug. 7–23 with dozens of events across Los Angeles’…
Joe Lovano’s Paramount Quartet will record live at New York’s Village Vanguard for ECM records on Aug. 26–27.
Jul 22, 2026 12:46 PM
One of Joe Lovano’s buzz terms is “the moment of now” and with seemingly infinite patience — despite a schedule…
