United Parish in Brookline presents Jazz Sanctuary - featuring Sam Knight

Join us for the next evening of the Jazz Sanctuary series featuring British saxophonist and composer Sam Knight, bringing his quartet to Brookline for an intimate performance on Saturday, April 11th at 7pm in United Parish’s Sanctuary, joined for this special evening by the minister of music Susan DeSelms on organ, and the United Parish Chancel Choir.

An emerging voice in contemporary jazz, Knight’s music bridges the deep tradition of jazz with the choral, classical, and pop influences that shaped his early years. A graduate of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and current scholar at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, he has toured widely across Europe and released his debut album Knight Life (AMP Records, 2023), featuring Seamus Blake.

For this Jazz Sanctuary performance, Sam Knight, alongside pianist Yujin Han, drummer Ben Fig and bassist Chris Lee, presents a collection of original works drawn from Knight Life and new material from his forthcoming project, Eden Unfinished.

Knight Life introduced audiences to Sam’s bold, searching sound world — rhythmically alive, harmonically expansive, and rooted in the immediacy of jazz improvisation.

His upcoming project, Eden Unfinished, turns inward. It explores what Sam calls “the empire within” — the subtle systems of truth, power, fear and desire that shape human behaviour from the inside out. Rather than pointing outward at political structures alone, the music asks a more intimate question: how do domination, control, love and liberation play out within each of us?

Through lyrical melodies, moments of volatility, and open improvisation, the trio navigates themes of struggle, surrender and transcendence. The result is music that is both personal and expansive — reflective yet urgent — inviting listeners into a space of contemplation, honesty and release.

Performers:

Sam Knight – Saxophone

Yujin Han – Piano

Chris Lee – Double Bass

Ben Fig – Drums

Susan DeSelms – Organ

United Parish Chancel Choir

About Jazz Sanctuary
Hosted in the breathtaking High Victorian Gothic setting of United Parish, Jazz Sanctuary is more than a concert series — it is a gathering of community through music and art. By attending, you are helping to revitalize the church’s historic performance spaces, preserving them as a hub for culture and connection in Brookline for generations to come.