2017 · Album
Live: Sfjazz Center 2017: Original Compositions & Music of Thelonious Monk, Ornette Coleman, Stevie Wonder
Recorded 2017, SFJAZZ Center, San Francisco · SFJAZZ
Nine Voices, One Room, Pure Invention
The Collective treats each composer—Monk, Coleman, Wonder—as a launching point, not a destination.
The first thing that strikes you about this live session is how Edward Simon anchors the whole enterprise. As pianist, he's the harmonic reference point for nine musicians who refuse to play it safe. The SFJAZZ Collective, formed in 2004 as a residency ensemble, exists to commission new work and reframe existing material through multiple voices. This 2017 performance at their home venue captures that exact mission: three original compositions sit alongside interpretations of Thelonious Monk, Ornette Coleman, and Stevie Wonder, all played by the same nine-piece lineup, which means the material keeps shifting shape. Simon's comping moves between sparse and dense, supportive and combative, depending on what Sean Jones on trumpet or David Sánchez on tenor needs in any given moment.
What makes this different from a typical live blowout is the arrangement logic. These aren't head-solo-head vehicles. Miguel Zenón on alto saxophone and the rest of the ensemble—Robin Eubanks on trombone, Warren Wolf on percussion, Matt Penman on bass, Obed Calvaire on drums—are constantly negotiating texture and space. The Monk and Coleman pieces absorb the band's collective intelligence rather than showcase individual chops. Even Stevie Wonder, whose melodic gift is harder to obscure, gets turned inside out through counterpoint and rhythmic displacement.
This is not a greatest-hits nostalgia trip. The Collective's real strength is treating composition as a conversation that lasts ninety minutes, not a series of isolated problems to solve. If you want the ensemble at full dispatch, this is the entry point.
Who's playing
Matt Penmanbass
Edward Simonpiano
David Sáncheztenor saxophone
Miguel Zenónalto saxophone
Sean Jonestrumpet
Robin Eubankstrombone
Obed Calvairedrums
Warren Wolfpercussion
SFJAZZ Collectiveperformer
