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His sixteenth album, today New York City’s James Brandon Lewis Trio releases ‘Apple Cores’, a record that further cements Lewis as one of the most provocative and prolific musical voices of his generation. It follows his breakthrough with Downbeat Magazine’s Album of the Year ‘Jesup Wagon’ (2021), a dreamlike mosaic of gospel, folk-blues and catcalling brass bands inspired by inventor George Washington Carver, and ‘Eye Of I’ (2023), his joyous and exploratory debut for ANTI-.  
 
Lewis continues to challenge his peers and the listener on ‘Apple Cores’ to keep jazz’s long and storied history close to our hearts and minds. By doing this, we can keep the innovations of our forebears alive, enriching our present-day experiences along the way. Listen to the album in full HERE. 
 
'Apple Cores’ takes its name and intention from the column that poet and jazz theorist Amiri Baraka wrote for DownBeat in the 1960s. In addition to Baraka, the influence of another jazz giant looms mightily over ‘Apple Cores’: trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist Don Cherry. In a testament to Cherry’s influence over the music that the trio is playing, Lewis designed each song title as a cryptogram of sorts, making subtle references to Cherry’s life and music. 
 
“The record itself is a nod to Amiri but mainly a nod to Don Cherry, using Amiri as a branch to really get the conversation going,” Lewis explains. “It’s not a tribute in the sense that we’re playing Don Cherry compositions, but that the music is commenting on his musical curiosity.” 
 
Recently named their Rising Star as both Artist of the Year and Composer of the Year, Downbeat declared: “James Brandon Lewis does not take the easy road. Having forged a singular sound on the tenor saxophone, he could simply devise settings that showcase his brawny tone. Instead, he has rooted his recent music in extramusical research.” 
 

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Lewis begins a run of European dates today alongside The Messthetics, kicking things off tonight in Dublin. Then in early March the trio will perform in both Los Angeles and Brooklyn before returning to Europe in April. All upcoming dates are listed below. 
 
 
 
TOUR DATES 
February 7 – Dublin, Ireland @ Grand Social 
February 8 – Belfast, United Kingdom @ The Black Box 
February 10 - Glasgow, United Kingdom @ Nice N Sleazy 
February 11 – Manchester, United Kingdom @ Yes 
February 12 – Birmingham, United Kingdom @ The Hare And Hounds 
February 13 – Nottingham, United Kingdom @ Boat Club 
February 14 – Bristol, United Kingdom @ The Lantern 
February 15 – Lewes, United Kingdom @ Lewes Con Club 
February 16 – London, United Kingdom @ 100 Club 
March 3 – Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon 
March 6 – Brooklyn, NY @ Public Records 
March 7 – Chicago, IL @ Constellation 
April 26 – Paris, France @ Maison de la Radio Studio 104 
April 27 – Cologne, Germany @ Stadtgarten 
April 28 – Brno, Czech Republic @ Cabare des Peches 
April 29 – Vienna, Austria @ Porgy andamp; Bess 
April 30 – San Sebastian, Spain @ Victoria Eugenia Club 
May 2 – Barcelona, Spain @ El Molino 
May 3 – London, UK @ Vortex 
May 7 – Tilburg, Netherlands @ Paradox 
May 8 – Liege, Belgium @ Jazz A Liege Festival