Bob Sands – 10 Questions For A Jazz Maestro In Madrid
We catch up with Bob Sands, Madrileño via New York now coming up to his third decade in the Spanish capital.
- What do you play? – I play mostly tenor and alto saxophone but also soprano saxophone, flute, clarinet and what I call functional piano as well.
- What brought you to Spain ?– I just came to visit a friend living in Barcelona and another one here in Madrid. I had wanted to live in Paris for a year so after visiting Madrid, I thought it would make a good transition for 6 months or a year. In May it´ll be 28 years!
- Who did you listen to when growing up? – Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Joe Henderson and Stanley Turrentine were my biggest influences in my early formative years.
- Whose Aranjuez versión was better? – Chet Baker or Miles Davis? – Miles´ hands down.
- When growing up were you aware of Spanish popular music? – Not even a little…
- How would you rate the Madrid live music scene in general and jazz in particular? – There are many more players at a high level than in ´92 but sadly, There are less places to play. Jazz in Spain is generally very under appreciated in my view.
- Who have you worked with? Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie, The Glenn Miller Orch., Gary Smulyan…Lots more
- What was the origin the band? – I had directed student bands for many years and thought it would be fun to put a professional band together for my birthday in 2000. It was supposed to be a one-off but everybody wanted to continue..
- What do you like about living & working in Madrid? – The people mostly but also it´s a more relaxed lifestyle than New York
- What do you dislike about living & working in Madrid? – Not nearly enough live music for such a big city and I´m still not used to the lack of punctuality..
The Bob Sands Band will be playing the Royal Jazz Festival on the 26th July at 22.30