What began as a cautious experiment has become a full-fledged success story. The SFJAZZ Collective, an eight-member, all-star jazz band that debuted in 2004, is now the crown jewel of the San Francisco Jazz Festival.
The Collective will play its spring San Francisco concerts next weekend at the Herbst Theatre after the most extensive touring schedule in its three-year existence. Randall Kline, executive director of SFJAZZ since the organization's inception in 1983 as Jazz in the City, was in New York during the group's triumphant concerts there. Kline said the response was positively unreal.
"When I hear them - and granted, I'm not the most unbiased ear listening to it - it's astounding what they're accomplishing. Not only the compositions but the individual musicianship of the players and the way they're coming together as a band," Kline said from his office at San Francisco's Embarcadero.
The band includes original members Joshua Redman on tenor and soprano saxophones (he's also the artistic director), Bobby Hutcherson on vibraphone and marimba, Nicholas Payton on trumpet, Miguel Zenon on alto saxophone and Renee Rosnes on piano. All of these artists lead their own successful jazz bands, so their coming together in this project is truly unique.
Arranger Gil Goldstein also has been with the Collective since its early stages. Joining last year were Matt Penman on bass and Eric Harland on drums. Trombonist Andre Hayward is the group's newest member.
The idea for the Collective is to reconvene each spring, with each member bringing an original composition for the band to rehearse and perform. The group also dedicates itself to the music of a jazz composer each season. Past honorees have been Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane. This year the group is exploring the rich compositional palette of pianist Herbie Hancock.
"It's quite an ambitious project that's even been more interesting listening to it than thinking about how it's supposed to be," Kline said.
The group in its inaugural season played a masterful, sold-out concert at the Crest Theatre; in the second season, it played an equally powerful show in Stockton, with Dave Brubeck in attendance. Though this year's tour is the most extensive, with the group going to Europe for the first time, there will be no Sacramento-area shows. The good news is that next season, which the Collective will dedicate to compositions by Thelonious Monk, will include a stop at the Mondavi Center at UC Davis.
"It's great to hear the band mature, and as that happens it gets more exciting," Kline said. "Seeing them in New York for three nights in a row, with three full houses at Carnegie Hall, was just transcendent."
The Collective's success has pushed SFJAZZ's profile even more to the forefront of jazz presenters in the United States. The organization presents the San Francisco Jazz Festival in the fall. Now in its 24th year, the festival is universally recognized as a world-class event. And the spring season, now in its seventh year, has become more and more successful.
"It's a super-ambitious program, and I'm not sure there's much like it in the world of jazz, considering the quantity and quality of what we're doing here," Kline said. "It's nice to know if you put good music out there that people will show up."
Kline has always been broad-minded in his scheduling. Programs have included artists such as the Kronos Quartet, which fit the progressive nature of the festival and its audience even if its music is not jazz.
This spring's schedule will include a solo concert by saxophonist Pharaoh Sanders at San Francisco's Grace Cathedral on April 21 and a film noir festival at the city's Balboa Theatre (May 19-21) featuring films with jazz-based soundtracks. These include "Anatomy of a Murder," with music by Duke Ellington; "Elevator to the Gallows," featuring Miles Davis' music; and "Odds Against Tomorrow," music by John Lewis.
Kline said he's also looking forward to a couple of spring concerts featuring musicians celebrating birthdays. The first will honor pianist Randy Weston (April 28 at the Herbst Theatre), who turns 80 this year.
"He's playing with the Gnawa Master Musicians of Morocco, a group he doesn't tour with very often," Kline said. "His recordings with them were some of the first real jazz and world-music blends. He's been very consistent in his work with them."
Kline also thinks the April 30 concert with saxophonist Dewey Redman (Joshua's father) celebrating his 75th birthday should be a special evening.
As he approaches his 25th anniversary with the SFJAZZ organization, Kline said the challenge remains the same - to just keep it all rolling.
"If we were just a concert promoter, that would be one thing, but we're doing projects like the Collective which involves commissioning and touring, the residency programs, our educational programs, managing memberships and donors. It's a complex organization."
At this point SFJAZZ has only one peer - the Lincoln Center Jazz organization in New York. And they have their own dedicated space.
"The strongest vision of the organization would be to have a building of our own," Kline conceded. "It would be fantastic to have a facility where the experience could be controlled in a manner where everything works to the best advantage of everybody - artists and audience."
SFJAZZ Collective
WHERE: Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco
WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday (SFJAZZ members only) and Saturday, and 7 p.m. next Sunday
TICKETS: Friday, $25, $32, $42, $57; Saturday and next Sunday: $25, $38, $50, $65
INFORMATION: (415) 788-7353, (800) 850-7353,
www.sfjazz.org
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