Tomoki Sanders (they/them) was born in New York City, NY in 1994. They started playing drums and percussions at the age of 4. At the age of 10, their father got them an alto saxophone. Sanders switched to tenor saxophone at the age of 14.
They had their first gig at the age of 13, and had been performing around various schools, venues, and clubs around the Kanto Region area in Japan.
They had their first recording (as a sideman) with the psychedelic rock band TENGOKU BATAKE JAPON on their second album, “Karomi No Step”.
In 2014, Sanders attended at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, studying performance and music production. Sanders studied with world-renowned musicians, such as Ralph Peterson Jr., Billy Kilson, Neal Smith, Tia Fuller, George Garzone, Frank Tiberi, Raydar Ellis, Jackie Beard, Divo Govoni, Shannon LeClaire, Dave Santoro, Ed Tomassi, Jim Odgren, etc. Sanders Graduated in 2018.
Sanders currently lives in New York City, performing alongside such as Pharoah Sanders, Kassa Overall, Moses Sumney, Ravi Coltrane, Maurice “Mobetta†Brown, Nikara Warren, Tatsuya Nakamura, Taylor McFerrin, Mark de Clive-Lowe , Raymond Mcmorrin, Tatsuya Nakamura (NEW YORK UNIT), KYOTO JAZZ SEXTET, Matthew Garrison, George Garzone, Hajime Yoshizawa, ROOT SOUL, Fumio Itabashi, TOKU, Jack DeJohnette Trio and Trap Music Orchestra, etc.
