Drummer Brandon Sanders, Former College Hoops Player And Compton DJ, Leaves A Lasting Impression With His Deeply Swinging Third Album

Source: Braithwaite & Katz Communications
September 13, 2025
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Out November 7, 2025 via Savant/HighNote Records, Lasting Impression features Warren Wolf, Stacy Dillard, Eric Scott Reed, Eric Wheeler and guest vocalist Jazzmeia Horn

"Brandon Sanders, a Harlem favorite, is a swinging drummer who always establishes a good feel for whatever group he��s playing with.�� Lewis Nash, Drummer

��You may not hear a more tasteful, delightfully hard-swinging jazz album [than] Compton's Finest." ��Matt Collar, All Music Guide

Album release concert on November 17, 2025 at Dizzy��s Club, NYC

Brandon Sanders was 25 years old before he ever picked up a pair of drumsticks, an age when most musicians can already boast years of study, gigging and recording. More than another quarter century passed before the drummer released his debut album, Compton��s Finest, in 2023 at age 52. By now Sanders has more than made up for his delayed start, and with his spirited third album, Lasting Impression, the Kansas City-born, Compton-raised, NYC-based drummer is clearly focused on the future, crafting music that leaves an indelible impact, while drawing on the experiences and lessons he��s learned along the way.

��I always want to make music that sticks with people,�� Sanders says. ��I'm not trying to show off my chops or my technical abilities. I just want to continue to tell the story of who I am as an artist and to make good music from start to finish.��

Out November 7, 2025 via Savant/HighNote Records, Lasting Impression features a stellar band impeccably designed to linger in the memory long after the album��s final notes fade away. Sanders is joined by vibraphone master Warren Wolf, who has been at the drummer��s side for all three of his releases to date; powerhouse saxophonist Stacy Dillard; acclaimed pianist {{Eric Reed; and versatile bassist

Eric Wheeler

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Eric Wheeler. Grammy-nominated vocalist Jazzmeia Horn guests on two tracks, including a soulful rendition of the Stevie Wonder classic ��Until You Come Back To Me (That��s What I��m Gonna Do).�� Sanders reconfigured the band into an intimate quartet, conjuring the appropriate mood to close out the album with Wolf alongside rising star pianist

Tyler Bullock

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Tyler Bullock and bassist

Ameen Saleem

bass, acoustic
b.1979

" data-original-title="" title="">Ameen Saleem, a longtime collaborator with the late, legendary Roy Hargrove. Pre-order the album.

If it seems remarkable that Sanders could start his musical journey at 25 and begin studying at the prestigious Berklee College of Music just two years later, much can be explained by the experiences that led him to that point. He first garnered attention as a walk-on basketball player at the University of Kansas, where many of the habits that have bolstered his musical talents were first instilled. ��It all takes the same kind of discipline,�� he describes.��Whether I was playing basketball or playing the drums, it meant getting up at 5 or 6 o��clock and practicing all day. I still feel like I��m catching up with the great drummers who have been doing this all their lives��

Lewis Nash

drums
b.1958

" data-original-title="" title="">Lewis Nash or

Willie Jones

drums
b.1929

" data-original-title="" title="">Willie Jones or

Kenny Washington

drums
b.1958

" data-original-title="" title="">Kenny Washington.��

In addition to being a mentor to Brandon, veteran drummer Willie Jones III has given his imprimatur to Sanders by producing all three of his albums. ��I feel that Willie Jones is like Dr. Dre or Quincy Jones when it comes to producing music,�� Sanders says. ��He knows how to put things together. I was never one of the greatest ball players coming out of L.A., but I knew what it takes to win. It's the same thing with music. I may not be the next

Tony Williams

drums
1945 - 1997

" data-original-title="" title="">Tony Williams, but I know how to make the music feel good. I come from the party vibe, so I try to make sure that people are snapping their fingers and bobbing their heads. Even people who ordinarily don't listen to jazz, they feel it.��

Sanders comes by those instincts naturally, having been raised in a musical family. His mother, father and stepfather all played musical instruments. His grandmother, Ernestine Parker��immortalized by ��Miss Ernestine,�� the crowd-pleasing opener from his second album, The Tables Will Turn�Cowned the Kansas City nightclub Casablanca. She regaled her grandson with memories and photos of the jazz greats she hosted:

Lou Donaldson

saxophone
1926 - 2024

" data-original-title="" title="">Lou Donaldson,

Stanley Turrentine

saxophone, tenor
1934 - 2000

" data-original-title="" title="">Stanley Turrentine,

Grant Green

guitar
1935 - 1979

" data-original-title="" title="">Grant Green, and countless others.

Sanders and his mother moved from KC to Los Angeles when he was 22 months old, eventually settling in the Compton neighborhood, a period of his life recalled in the title of Compton��s Finest. He attended Centennial High School, whose notable alumni also include rap icons Dr. Dre, DJ Quik and Kendrick Lamar. Sanders showed hints of his future percussive gifts by beatboxing and then spinning records as a DJ. ��Growing up in Compton,�� he recalls, ��I got into music as a way to try to survive. I was the guy that had the two turntables and a mixer.��

Sanders returned to his home state to attend the University of Kansas, where he studied jazz history with Dick Wright, also a longtime radio host on KANU. Wright encouraged Sanders�� lifelong obsession with collecting records, introducing him to the classics of the Blue Note and Prestige catalogues. After graduating from KU and searching for his next move, Sanders found himself drawn to a set of drums at the church he attended. Two years later, he��d honed his skills enough to further his studies in Boston.

At Berklee, Sanders rose quickly through the ranks until he was playing in elite ensembles led by

Joe Lovano

drums
b.1952

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Lovano and

Bill Pierce

saxophone, tenor
b.1948

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Pierce, and collaborating with peers including

Christian Scott

" data-original-title="" title="">Christian Scott,

Luques Curtis

bass, acoustic

" data-original-title="" title="">Luques Curtis and

Warren Wolf

vibraphone
b.1979

" data-original-title="" title="">Warren Wolf. The latter has remained one of Sanders�� strongest supporters, pushing him to challenge himself on stage and in the studio, and playing vibes on all three of Sanders�� albums. Sanders chose

Bobby Hutcherson

vibraphone
1941 - 2016

" data-original-title="" title="">Bobby Hutcherson��s ��8/4 Beat�� to open the new album as a showcase for Wolf.

After moving to New York in 2004, he led bands that included future superstars Esperanza Spalding and Jon Batiste early in their rise to fame. He also embarked on a parallel career as a social worker in the NYC schools, awakening a passion for teaching and nurturing that enriches his musical life. Sanders first connected with Jazzmeia Horn, who he calls his ��little big sister,�� via Facebook, well before she established herself as one of the leading jazz voices of her generation. She joined the band for a pair of tracks on Compton��s Finest and does the same here, with an intimate ��Our Love Is Here to Stay�� and the aforementioned ��Until You Come Back To Me.��

Reed, who Willie Jones suggested for the session as an ideal sparring partner for Sanders, contributes two pieces: the sly ��Shadoboxing�� and ��No BS for B.S.,�� a cleverly worded tip of the hat to leader Sanders. Dillard delves deep into the pain and longing of ��Soul Eyes,�� the Mal Waldron classic so memorably performed by John Coltrane. Sanders contributed two originals, the buoyant title track and ��Tales of Mississippi,�� a heartfelt tribute to the people that the drummer has met in the state, a counterbalance to the many songs recounting the tragedies that have befallen them over the years.

It may have taken Sanders longer than most to reach this point in his career, but his first decades were far from wasted. They were spent garnering knowledge and experience that now enrich and pour forth from his music, ensuring that he leaves a Lasting Impression.

Brandon Sanders

Born in Kansas City and raised in Los Angeles, Brandon Sanders didn��t start playing drums until the age of 25, though he��d been raised around music �C his grandmother ran a famed KC nightclub that hosted the likes of Lou Donaldson and Grant Green. Sanders was a DJ in Compton and a basketball player at the University of Kansas, but dedicated himself to jazz shortly after graduating from KU. Within two years he was studying at Berklee College of Music with Joe Lovano and Bill Pierce. He released his debut album Compton��s Finest in 2023, featuring Warren Wolf, Chris Lewis, Keith Brown, Eric Wheeler and Jazzmeia Horn. The Tables Will Turn followed the next year, with Wolf, Lewis and Brown returning, along with David Wong and Christie Dashiell.

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Track Listing

8/4 Beat; .Lasting Impression; Our Love Is Here To Stay; Shadoboxing; Tales of Mississippi; Soul Eyes; No BS for B.S.; Until You Come Back to Me (That��s What I��m Gonna Do).