PRESS & MEDIA
"Sanders was the epitome of cool...
A free thinker who is expanding
the possibilities of the violin."
Chicago Tribune
"Above all it feels as if these performers have got the scale of this eloquent music just right: nothing forced; no obvious straining for effect, just fresh, thoughtful and command interpretations shot through with poetry and alertness. This is real Afro-Latin chamber music, highlighted by the lustrous violin of James Sanders." - Latin Jazz Net
“Sanders is a generous bandleader, giving his collaborators plenty of room to develop their ideas. Jazz is about listening closely and working together, and nowhere was this more true than on Friday night... Sanders guided the music, his violin moving from serene to intense and back again with aplomb.” - Agúzate
"A kind of a musical melting pot, in which a variety of cultural traditions and stylistic genres... form a unique symbiosis of sound. Proyecto Libre smoothly passed from contemplation and almost transcendental climates to a musical fiesta full of lively rhythm... a synonym for the characteristics of the ideal Chicago music, in which the various trends... form a kind of new music culture." - Long Play (Poznan, Poland)
"Sanders somehow has managed to find common ground between Afro-Cuban musical tradition and avant-garde experimentation.” - Chicago Tribune
“Sanders brought his much-praised Conjunto onstage to thrill the large audience… the cream of the crop on the Chicago Latin scene… an astounding display of sights and sounds… one nearly expected the powerful violinist’s instrument to burst into flames at any moment.” - ChicagoJazz.net
"This was the sound of borders being breached, of walls being torn down. African-American, Afro-Caribbean, and African languages were all spoken, but more importantly, also listened to, responded to, moving the music forward.“ - Border Radio