SFJAZZ Collective Update

New CD, European Tour, Looking Ahead to ’08

The SFJAZZ Collective is a workshop band unlike any other in jazz, pursuing an innovative approach to repertoire that honors recent jazz history while pointing the way ahead, with fresh arrangements of the works of a modern jazz master and new pieces by the Collective members themselves. Each year the Collective—eight of the top composer/performers in jazz, each an established leader in his or her own right—devote multiple weeks to a group residency in San Francisco, which includes an intensive multi-week rehearsal period, educational workshops with the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars, and at least one Bay Area concert. The Collective also undertakes annual U.S. and International tours.

“The SFJAZZ Collective is an ideal expression of SFJAZZ’s organizational philosophy,” said SFJAZZ Executive and Artistic Director Randall Kline. “We are united in our commitment to jazz as a vital, ever-changing, and ever-relevant art form. With new repertoire and a healthy mix of new musicians and returning veterans, the Collective remains fresh and modern, year after year.”

The latest document of the Collective’s innovative approach to jazz is the limited edition 2-CD set Live 2007: 4th Annual Concert Tour. The deluxe, numbered edition of 3000 includes the complete 2007 repertoire of Collective members’ original compositions and arrangements of Thelonious Monk’s compositions. The 20 tracks, hand-picked by Collective members, represent the “best of the best” of their 2007 performances. Aside from witnessing the band’s live shows, the CDs are the best way to experience the Collective’s awe-inspiring virtuosity. The CD, available exclusively through SFJAZZ, is also an integral, direct funding source for the Collective’s annual residency and tours.

This summer, the Collective unveiled a new lineup featuring “one of the greatest musicians in jazz history” (The New York Times), Grammy-winning saxophonist Joe Lovano, and vibraphonist Stefon Harris, “one of the significant jazz players of the new century” (Los Angeles Times).  Lovano and Harris joined returning members Dave Douglas (trumpet), Miguel Zenón (alto saxophone), Andre Hayward (trombone), Renee Rosnes (piano), Matt Penman (bass), and Eric Harland (drums), on the Collective’s first tour of the European jazz festival circuit. The group was greeted by standing ovations in belle époque opera houses, ancient outdoor amphitheatres, and some of the most prestigious jazz festivals in Europe, including Jazz à Vienne, Umbria Jazz, and the North Sea Jazz Festival. 

This same band will convene for the 2008 season, which will feature more original works, commissioned by SFJAZZ, as well as the compositions of saxophonist Wayne Shorter. The Collective’s 2008 tour will include an encore stop at New York’s Carnegie Hall, as well as performances at Chicago Symphony Hall, the Portland Jazz Festival, the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and the University of California, Los Angeles. The Collective will give its only Bay Area concert at U.C. Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall on March 15, as part of Cal Performances' 2007-2008 season. Tickets are available directly from the Cal Performances Box Office at 510-642-9988 or online.

Live 2007 is available exclusively from SFJAZZ. It can be ordered online, by phone at 415-788-7353, or in person at the SFJAZZ Box Office and Store, located on the Lobby Level of 3 Embarcadero Center in San Francisco.