I am an artist who believes in the interconnectedness of the Universe. We are all just particles of energy experiencing a shared consciousness through different perspectives.
My music emerges from this understanding. When I compose or improvise, I'm not trying to impose my will on sound—I'm listening for what wants to emerge, allowing the natural mind to speak through the social mind. Like water finding its level, music flows through the path of least resistance, seeking its own truth.
I don't claim mastery over my instruments; I claim curiosity. Each note is a question asked of the universe, each improvisation a conversation between the finite self and infinite possibility. My compositions traverse through-composed structures, groove-based soul explorations, Americana reflections, world music influences, and free jazz adventures—not because I'm trying to demonstrate range, but because consciousness itself contains multitudes.
The groups I lead are laboratories for collective consciousness. When minds synchronize in improvisation, something larger than any individual emerges. We become a temporary constellation, particles of energy momentarily aligned, creating patterns that dissolve as quickly as they form. This is the essence of jazz, of life, of existence itself: beautiful, fleeting, interconnected.
My work with orchestras, small ensembles, and solo projects all pursue the same truth: that beneath the distinctions we create—genre, style, tradition—lies a fundamental vibration. Music isn't something we make—it's a manifestation of who we are and our part in the fabric of the universe.
I am always seeking the flow; that moment when the social mind quiets and the natural mind speaks. When the river knows it's the river. When the storm knows it's the storm. When we remember we're not separate from any of it.
This is why I am compelled to create: not to leave a legacy or prove anything, but to participate fully in the universal conversation. To be present for those rare moments when music reveals what words cannot—that we are already whole, already connected, already home.
The exploration continues. The river still flows.
Jay Sanders
Asheville, North Carolina