The Lucas Sader Project is a Winnipeg-based group committed to presenting an innovative musical perspective while honoring the lineage of jazz history. Jazz After 9 host Neil Coligan interviewed Lucas Sader about this and more!

 At 23 years of age, bandleader Lucas Sader has established himself as a drummer, composer, arranger, educator, and writer.

Sader recently graduated with his Bachelor of Jazz Studies Degree in Drumset Performance from the University of Manitoba Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music. As a student in the program, Sader studied primarily with world-renowned drummer Quincy Davis. Throughout his degree, Lucas also studied and worked with Terreon Gully, George Colligan, Steve Kirby, Derrick Gardner, Larry Roy, Will Bonness, Anna-Lisa Kirby, and Jimmy Greene. Other teachers and mentors include David Schneider, Bill Kristjanson, Curtis Nowosad, and Jauvon Gilliam.

While still enrolled in the Jazz Studies program, Sader recorded and released his debut album as a leader with The Lucas Sader Project, titled Apollo: Tribute to the Miles Davis Quintet (Lucas Sader Music, 2012). The album features Sader on drums, along with acclaimed trumpeter Derrick Gardner, alto and tenor saxophonist Paul Balcain, pianist Paul De Gurse, and bassist Karl Kohut. Balcain, De Gurse, and Kohut are all in-demand artists on a national level, while Gardner has appeared on Grammy-winning recordings and worked with a litany of artists, including The Count Basie Orchestra, Harry Connick Jr., and Tony Bennett.

Apollo pays homage to iconic trumpeter Miles Davis and his groundbreaking 1960's Quintet through featuring compositions and arrangements of jazz standards written by Miles’ group, along with original compositions and arrangements penned by Sader. Apollo was released by Lucas Sader Music, the dynamic record label and production company Sader founded in 2012. Sader was awarded grants from both FACTOR and Manitoba Film and Music for the recording of the album. Apollo was released to critical acclaim with The Winnipeg Free Press awarding the album four stars (Chris Smith, November 2012). It reached #1 on !earshot’s monthly National Jazz Radio Chart (January 2013), charting in 14 cities across Canada, and has got extensive airplay across North America. “Apollo reminds us of a golden age in jazz while introducing a young talent to watch” (Kerry Doole, New Canadian Music).

Now featuring pianist Will Bonness and vocalist Erin Propp, The Lucas Sader Project continues to evolve. The group has been featured in both the 2012 and 2013 TD Winnipeg International Jazz Festivals. Other groups Lucas has worked with include Steve Kirby’s Jazz on Wheels, The Paul De Gurse Quartet as part of the 2011 and 2013 TD Winnipeg International Jazz Festivals, and The University of Manitoba Alumni All-Star Band, Jazz Lab Band, Jazz Orchestra, and Percussion Ensemble.

Sader has worked extensively as a private instructor, primarily out of his own studio, and as a guest clinician in middle schools, high schools, secondary institutions, and music camps. Lucas was a keynote presenter at the 2014 Winnipeg DrumTalk Festival. His writing has been featured in a variety of publications, including dig! Magazine.