Jordan Sand is a double bassist, singer, improviser and composer from New York, focused on polyphonic solo music for bowed bass and voice. Described by Omaha Under the Radar as “Joni Mitchell meets Ligeti”, her work takes the form of song cycles, theatre pieces, electro-acoustic chamber music, free improvisation, live readings, and audiovisual experiments on the immersive side of sound.
Since 2020 she’s had a research position at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, investigating the double bass’s divergent pitch systems and the resonance of their interaction. A focus on details of sound and staging led to collaborations with visual artists in Norway. Remodeling vocal, instrumental and electronic modes in dialogue with their optics, her portfolio has expanded to include sound design for VR, gallery installations, and film.
Sand’s music career began in New York when she became the regular bassist of the group Ljova and the Kontraband. From 2013-2019 she worked primarily within the folk and contemporary music scenes, with a specialization in klezmer and free jazz. Concert credits include performances at the Apollo Theater, Carnegie Hall, and The Stone, as well as televised performances for The Late Show and Saturday Night Live. She works frequently with the composer and violist Lev Zhurbin, appearing in an NPR Tiny Desk Concert in 2017. She’ has also played for the International Contemporary Ensemble, Michael Winograd, and Peter Evans touring festival stages in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Taiwan.
Sand earned degrees from Ithaca College and UC San Diego. She attended the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, and, under scholarship through the Fondation des Etats Unis, spent a year in Paris studying with François Rabbath. She currently lives in Trondheim, Norway.