Pianist Christian Sands Is 'Embracing Dawn'

Christian Sands

By Darlene Donloe

Pianist Christian Sands recently made his Hollywood Bowl debut – and it was alongside some heavy hitters. 

Sands performed September 11, as part of the ‘Jazz on Tap at the Bowl’ program, featuring the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, led by Principal Conductor Thomas Wilkins with Music Director Christian McBride who co-hosted the show with the legendary Ben Vereen.  

Other band members included Rodney Jones (guitar), Clayton Cameron (drums), and special guest Terence Blanchard.  

Savion Glover brought down the house with his high-energy tapping.

Others on tap included legendary tap dancers Sarah Reich, Michela Marino Lerman, and Karen Callaway Williams, who tapped alongside featured singers including Freda Payne, Judith Hill, and Paula Cole.  

Sands, 35, dapper in a blue checkered-like suit, was masterful as he tickled the ivories.  

The New Haven, Conn. native and Grammy-nominated artist (Be Water), who now calls Los Angeles home, is having a great year. Not only is he touring and reveling on a successful Hollywood Bowl debut, but he is set to release his latest CD, ‘Embracing Dawn,’ on September 27, with ‘MMC’ as the first single to drop.

Christian Sands

I caught up with Sands (CS), who received a B.A. and a Masters from the Manhattan School of Music, recently to talk about his career. 

DD: When did you first discover the piano?  

CS: The piano chose me. I started playing when I was one year old. The story goes that I would never pound the keys. I would use my fingers to play the piano. We had an upright spinet, and my aunt bought me an upright piano. Lessons started when I was four. I studied classical piano at four. A family friend, a musical director of a church recommended to my parents that I take piano lessons. She passed away when I was five. She left her piano to me in her will. I still own it today. 

DD: Describe what you felt like when you heard the piano.

CS: It's the same now. It’s joy. It’s a place of safety. It’s a place of exploration and pure expression. I still have the same feelings.

DD: When did you get serious about it?

CS: I’ve been performing professionally since I was seven years old. Music is just who I am. That’s a hard question to answer. When I figured out I could make this a living career, I was probably about 14 or 15. I had a steady performance job at a restaurant called Sage in New Haven. I played every Friday. I got paid and I got tips.

DD:  When you were growing up did you ever think you would play the Hollywood Bowl?

CS: No.  Well, yes, eventually. I had no clue at all. 

DD: What are your feelings about that venue? 

CS: I’m very excited. Always wanted to. I’ve seen many wonderful shows there. It’s an honor to play with those musicians. 

DD:  Talk about playing with Christian McBride at the Hollywood Bowl.  Are you two friends? How long have you known him? What’s the relationship?

CS: He’s sort of like my older brother. We’ve known each other since 2010. We used to work together a lot. I was a part of his trio, The Christian McBride Trio. That was my entryway into the pros.  We just performed for Blue Note Napa Festival recently. That’s my brother from another mother. 

DD: Talk about your new album ‘Embracing Dawn’. Why that title?

CS: The title came from the creation of the record. The record was birthed through transition, heartache, trying to find a place of healing and understanding, and about what comes next in one’s life. I wanted to create a space for people to go to. It’s embracing the next steps. The new day. For me, it was a change in relationship, a change in the scope of myself, and a change from the East Coast to the West Coast. 

DD: How long did this latest album take to produce/record?

CS: It took me about a year to write the music. I was trying to capture different aspects of what someone goes through with grief, happiness, hope, and failure. I also wanted to write music about it – as I was going through it. There are nine cuts on the album. 

DD: Talk about the first single, “MMC.” – Moms Mac and Cheese. How did this song come about?

CS: With MMC – we think about the forms of healing and transition. One of those things that helped me was always having a good, home-cooked meal. It’s more about the sustaining of one’s soul. Any time you get a good meal, it does something to your soul. It reminds you everything is going to be cool. Who better than one’s mother who makes a wonderful bowl of MMC? It’s also about showing that there is a place where one can be fulfilled in their soul. Part of that is cuisine.

DD: How would you describe your music?

CS: It’s me. It’s steeped in the traditions of American Black music, classical, jazz, and funk.  I’m a product of that. It’s also creative. I write music to tell stories of people, America, my people, and experiences.

DD:  What do you struggle with as an artist?

CS:  Everything. There are so many things to struggle with. You'd have to be more specific. I struggle with everything everyone else struggles with, a stable home, finances, and relationships. I am fine with how to create.

DD:  How often do you tour?

CS:  Every day. I’m usually on the road 80% of the year.

DD: What do you like and dislike about touring?

CS: I like that I get to experience the world, people, culture, and different ideals, I get to learn stories of humanity. No matter where I am, people love music. They love my music. I’m so appreciative.

DD: Do you switch up your repertoire depending on where you are in the world?

CS: I can play the same thing in America, that I play in Brazil, Budapest, Copenhagen, or Italy.  I have fond memories of every place I’ve gone. The bad part is the travel. It’s the up and down, and the lack of sleep.

DD: What does music do for you?

CS: It allows me to travel and communicate. I can talk to you with my instrument. I can say what I truly feel.  Music allows you to transform language.

It’s a storyteller.

DD: When you are performing, are you conscious of the audience?

CS: The audience is part of the band. If they are not into it, I’m not into it. I’m conscious of everything.

DD: Ten years from now – what do you want to be and what do you hope to be doing?

CS: I’ve been trying to figure that out. What I want to be doing is institution building. I’m somebody who believes in giving back to the well that has fed and watered you. That can be me either performing, teaching, or being an artistic director of something I’ve created.