“A Saxophonist Who Embodies and Transcends Tradition” — The NY Times

The JGI Continuum Fellowship convenes a cohort of New York-based early-to mid-career musicians and multidisciplinary artists to curate concerts and programs that foster creative exchange across artistic disciplines and generations.

Tenor saxophonist and composer James Brandon Lewis has emerged as a leading figure on the improvised music scene in New York City and across the world. The winner of seven DownBeat magazine awards (including “artist of the year” in the 2025 critics’ poll), and a 2026 Guggenheim Fellowship, Lewis has led ensembles on some of the most prominent stages across the world, from the Village Vanguard to the Bimhuis Muziekgebouw. He has received accolades from The New York Times, NPR Music and countless other outlets. The late Sonny Rollins called Lewis a “promising young player with the potential to do great things, having listened to the Elders.” Lewis relocated to New York City in 2012, and since then he has become known as one of the leading figures on the scene, uniting his background in gospel and jazz with an interest in Western classical music, hip-hop, punk rock, other music traditions from around the globe, and art forms outside of music. His celebrated projects include the James Brandon Lewis Trio, the American Book Award-winning Heroes Are Gang Leaders, the Red Lily Quintet, and his ongoing collaboration with the Messthetics, which has yielded two critically acclaimed albums on Impulse! Records. Lewis, who recently earned a PhD in Creativity from Rowan University in New Jersey, also works across mediums as a writer and poet.