SFJAZZ, San Francisco’s non-profit jazz organization, announced yesterday the formation of its new resident jazz supergroup, the SF Modern JAZZ Collective, a Joshua Redman-led band that will begin doing its thing in 2004. Among the Collective’s ranks are vibist Bobby Hutcherson and drummer Brian Blade. While the all-star band concept isn’t anything new to jazz, this one’s actually interesting. The band will convene annually in San Francisco for six weeks or so, not only to perform in concert but to workshop new arrangements by band members and to lead educational events for the kids and adults as well. Then the band will then take off on tour across the country (though in its first year the Collective will only tour in California).
The group is an octet comprised of Redman, Hucherson, Blade, trumpeter Nicholas Payton, pianist Renee Rosnes, alto saxophonist Miguel Zenon, trombonist Josh Roseman and bassist Robert Hurst. An appreciated bucket of funds from the James Irvine Foundation helped make such an assemblage of talent possible. In addition to the new works that band members will bring to the table, the group plans to develop a repertoire of modern jazz classics, that is, jazz tunes written after 1950.
In the picture, taken by Vân Nguyen for SFJAZZ, Redman and Hutcherson pose with SFJAZZ executive director Randall Kline.
2004 is still a ways off, and in the meantime SFJAZZ has plenty of jazz programs to offer Bay Area citizens, including a number of free, outdoor concerts throughout summer 2003. A schedule of those shows is listed below.
Stanford Shopping Center
Palo Alto, CA
June 5 – August 7, 2003
6/5/03 Kim Nalley
6/12/03 Taylor Eigsti Quartet
6/19/03 Mingus Amungus
6/29/03 Le Jazz Hot
7/3/03 Zydeco Flames
7/10/03 Eddie Marshall’s Holy Mischief
7/17/03 The Robert Stewart Experience
7/24/03 Madeleine Eastman
7/31/03 TBA
8/7/03 Lavay Smith and her Red Hot Skillet Lickers
Levi’s Plaza
Embarcadero & Battery St.
San Francisco, CA
Sept 4 – October 9
9/3/03 Anton Schwartz
9/10/03 Mark Levine & the Latin Tinge
9/17/03 Michael Bluestein
9/24/03 Dave Ellis Ensemble
10/1/03 World Jazz Trio
10/8/03 Homenagem Brasileira
Union Square
Geary & Stockton St.
San Francisco, CA
Sept 20, 27
9/20/03 Brenda Boykin
9/27/03 Marcus Shelby
Crocker Galleria
50 Post St.
San Francisco, CA
August 21 – Sept 25
8/21/03 Brad Buethe
8/28/03 TBA
9/4/03 Bo Grumpus
9/11/03 TBA
9/18/03 Jack West & Curvature
9/25/03 SoVoSo
