Trombonist/composer/conductor JC Sanford is a musician of wide breadth, deeply rooted in the traditions of Jazz and Classical music, yet constantly pushing at their boundaries. Equally at home in many roles, Sanford works regularly as a composer, performer, arranger and conductor.
A protégé of legendary composer and trombonist Bob Brookmeyer, he has performed with the likes of Danilo Pérez, Matt Wilson, John McNeil, and George Schuller. He is a member of several diverse NYC-based ensembles including the Andrew Rathbun Large Ensemble, Nathan Parker Smith’s prog-rock big band, Andrew Green’s film noir tribute Narrow Margin, singer-songwriter Joy Askew’s New York Brass, and Joseph C. Phillips, Jr.’s jazz/new music hybrid Numinous.
JC's original works often defy labels such as 'Jazz' or 'Classical'. While he originally built a reputation through big band writing, JC has forayed into many other areas - composing for solo piano, wind and brass formations and various mixed chamber ensembles. A founding member of the composers' federation Pulse (with Darcy James Argue & Joseph C. Phillips, Jr.), JC was a member of the BMI Jazz Composers' Workshop led by Jim McNeely and Mike Abene for 5 years. His works have been performed by John Abercrombie, Lew Soloff, Dave Liebman, Danilo Perez, and a number of universities and high schools across the United States.
His 2014 debut CD with the JC Sanford Orchestra entitled Views from the Inside yielded international acclaim and was awarded a 2014 Aaron Copland Fund Recording Grant alongside organizations and ensembles such as the Seattle Symphony, Nonesuch Records, and American Composers Forum. He is also the leader of several small groups: his the JC Sanford Quartet, the Imminent Standards Trio, the chamber jazz trio Triocracy, and a new trio with pianist Michael Cain and bassist Anthony Cox.
JC is in high demand as a conductor of new original music. He conducts the Grammy-nominated John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble, the Alan Ferber Nonet with Strings, the Frank Carlberg Large Ensemble, and the Alice Coltrane Orchestra featuring Ravi Coltrane, Jack DeJohnette, and Charlie Haden. He recently was guest conductor for the North German Radio Big Band (NDR) and Quinsin Nachoff’s new “Patterns in Nature” multimedia project. He was the curator the "Size Matters" large ensemble series Brooklyn for 4 1/2 years.
JC is the recipient of a D.M.A. in Jazz Studies from New England Conservatory of Music. At NEC, he studied with Bob Brookmeyer and conducted the NEC Little Big Band. A Minnesota native, Sanford's undergraduate years were spent at the University of Northern Iowa where he was mentored by reputed jazz pedagogue Bob Washut.
Since returning to MN with his family in 2016, JC has performed as a trombonist in the Twin Cities area with JT and Chris Bates, Davu Seru, Anthony Cox, Babatunde Lea, Zacc Harris, Dave Hagedorn, and Laura Caviani. He recently co-founded the Twin Cities Jazz Composers' Workshop alongside his wife Asuka Kakitani, trumpeter Adam Meckler, and saxophonist Aaron Hedenstrom. He received a 2018 McKnight Composer Fellowship, a 2019 MN State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant to record his quartet, 2021 and 2022 Creative Support Grants to record his Imminent Standards trio, as well as a new project with Michael Cain and Anthony Cox in 2023. He also is the monthly blog curator for the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers (ISJAC).