Christian Sands
PROJECTS:
Christian Sands — Steinway Artist and five-time Grammy Nominee — is an emerging jazz force. His abundant piano technique perfectly matches his conception, accomplishing a much deeper musical goal: a fresh look at the entire language of jazz. Whether it’s stride, swing, bebop, progressive, fusion, Brazilian or Afro-Cuban, Sands develops the past while providing unusual and stimulating vehicles for the present… and for the future. He expresses himself through an extensive vocabulary of patterns, textures and structures, all the while maintaining a strong sense of understatement, sensitivity, taste and swing.
NORTH MEETS WEST TRIO
On June 19, 2026 Storyville Records releases Between Then and Now, a new trio album by acclaimed American pianist Christian Sands, joined by Danish bassist Thomas Fonnesbæk and Swedish drummer Rasmus Kihlberg. An international collaboration that captures contemporary jazz at the intersection of American tradition and Nordic musical sensibility.
The album features balances original compositions by Sands and Fonnesbæk with inspired reinterpretations of jazz standards and classic repertoire by Bobby Timmons, Richard Rodgers, Luiz Bonfá, and John Coltrane. Recorded in the spirit of Copenhagen’s jazz tradition it presents jazz as both a living art form of the present and a dialogue with its past, hence the title, Between Then and Now.
The collaboration grew from Sands’ relationship with the Copenhagen jazz scene, initiated when former Montmartre musical director Christian Brorsen discovered him online and invited him to Denmark. Like earlier generations of American jazz musicians, including Ben Webster and Dexter Gordon, Sands quickly became a compelling presence in Copenhagen, where attentive listening and subtle interplay guide every performance. Over the years he has been a frequent guest in Denmark and loved by the audience here.
Together, the trio represents a truly international jazz language. Sands is celebrated for his virtuosic piano playing, rich harmonic imagination, and improvisational energy. Fonnesbæk, one of Europe’s leading bassists, offers melodic clarity and technical brilliance shaped by the Danish jazz tradition, while Kihlberg contributes a refined rhythmic approach marked by elegance, precision and responsiveness.
Together they have a compelling sound of openness yet you always feel the classic American jazz tradition in the music. This is modern American/Scandinavian music, not just jazz.
PRESS:
“When I first met Christian in 2009, it marked a seminal moment in my career as a bandleader. He was the FIRST young musician I’d met who had the drive, passion and skill of my peers like Roy Hargrove, Eric Reed, Greg Hutchinson and Antonio Hart. He’s only worried about being the best musician he can possibly be. He’s the ultimate professional”
Christian McBride
“…having successfully made the case for his breadth of style, Sands is free to follow his music where it leads.”
NPR
“…Christian Sands plays with a restrained touch and a rolling command across the entire keyboard.”
The New York Times
“Sands is skilled, soulful and melodic…”
VICE
