Christian Sands facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Christian Sands
Sands in Denmark, 2015
Background information
Birth name	Christian Sylvester Sands
Born	(1989-05-22) May 22, 1989 (age 35) New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer
Instruments	Piano
Years active	2000s–present
Labels	Mack Avenue
Associated acts	Christian McBride

Christian Sylvester Sands (born May 22, 1989) is an American jazz pianist and composer. His third album for Mack Avenue Records, Be Water, was released in 2020 and received a Grammy Award nomination in the Best Instrumental Composition category for the song "Be Water II".

Life and career

Sands in Denmark, 2015

Sands was born on May 22, 1989. He grew up in New Haven, Connecticut, and later moved to the nearby town of Orange. He started playing the piano at a very young age, and took lessons from the age of four; he commented that "I grew up with it in the house, in the classroom and on stage so it has always been a huge part of my life".

Sands was mentored by pianist Billy Taylor, who allowed the teenager to close one of the sets that Taylor played at the Kennedy Center. Sands went on to study at the Manhattan School of Music. The school's Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, led by Bobby Sanabria, recorded the album Kenya Revisited Live in 2009; it was nominated for a Latin Grammy.

After graduating, Sands joined Inside Straight, one of bassist Christian McBride's bands; they have toured internationally.

Sands became a Steinway artist in 2012. In 2014, Sands cited as influences McBride, Wynton Marsalis, Kenny Garrett, and Marcus Roberts, because "They're coming from the tradition of bringing people into the music, but also moving it forward into new directions". In the same year, Sands became an American Pianists Association Jazz Fellowship Awards Finalist.

His composition "Be Water II" was nominated for the Best Instrumental Composition Grammy Award in 2020.

Discography

An asterisk (*) indicates that the year is that of release.

As leader

As sideman