NYC The Week of March 10th
Here is what you should go listen to this week in New York City.
Birdland, March 11-15 - The SFJazz Collective
The SFJazz Collective, under Musical Director and saxophone virtuoso Chris Potter, is sounding as good as ever. A commissioned small ensemble, the collective is made up of jazz heavyweights: Kendrick Scott on drums, Matt Brewer on bass, Edward Simon on piano, Warren Wolf on vibraphone, Mike Rodriguez on trumpet, and David Sanchez and Chris Potter on saxophones. You can look up any of these names and you will find that each of them is etched in music history, whether as Grammy Award winners or having toured with musical royalty themselves.
Each member of the ensemble is commissioned to write a piece for the group each year, often arrangements of tunes from a particular artist. For example, here is a previous musical director, Miguel Zenon’s arrangement of “Superstition” when they covered Stevie Wonder back in the early 2010s.
They are one of the few groups in America that are paid well to rehearse, and this is evident in their arrangements. The arrangements are complex, through-composed, and groovy, and there aren’t many ensembles in the world that can nail all three like this one can.
I was fortunate to study under David Sanchez and was privileged to have Edward Simon, Warren Wolf, Matt Brewer, and Mike Rodriguez as professors. I am biased, but this is my top pick this week.
Get tickets here.
Listening guide:
- SFJazz Collective - The Music of Stevie Wonder and New Compositions: Live in New York 2011
- SFJazz Collective - New Works and Classics Reimagined (Live from SFJAZZ Center 2022)
Village Vanguard, March 11-16 - The Bill Stewart Trio
My favourite saxophonist on the planet is on this gig, Walter Smith III. Bill Stewart on drums and Larry Grenadier on bass form one of the heaviest rhythm sections around. I personally, even as a saxophone player, am not the biggest fan of chordless trios (no piano or guitar), but in my opinion, this gig is worth going to just to hear these guys play the room and Walter Smith III absolutely shred.
Get tickets here.
Listening guide:
- Bill Stewart - Band Menu (feat. Walter Smith III & Larry Grenadier)
Smoke, March 15 - Fred Hersch with Miguel Zenon
I have not listened to much of Fred Hersch, but I can’t go past recommending Miguel Zenon. He earned a mention earlier in the blog as he was the musical director of the SFJazz Collective. He is one of the few artists whose composition is as good as their playing, and that’s saying something because he is one of, if not the most, technically proficient alto saxophone players on the planet.
Get tickets here.
Listening guide:
- Miguel Zenon - Tipico
SF The Week of March 10th
Here is what you should be listening to this week in San Francisco.
SFJazz, March 13-14 - Joshua Redman Group
Joshua Redman brings a young group to SFJazz this week, but no matter who he brings, if they’re playing with Josh, they’re killing it. He’s one of the greatest living saxophone players and came of age in the ’90s. His self-titled album is required listening for saxophone players, almost like Sonny Rollin’s Saxophone Colossus and John Coltrane’s Blue Trane. He plays with such beautiful motivic development, and every solo he produces feels like an entire novel that’s somehow easy to follow.
Listening guide:
- Joshua Redman - Joshua Redman
Black Cat, March 19 - Veotis Latchison
Although this one is next week, I want to give extra heads-up to this group as I think they will be spectacular. Veotis is a young singer native to the Bay Area, and he brings the greatest bass and drum combo in the area with him—Guilio Xavier Cetto and Grammy Award winner Thomas Pridgen, respectively. If there is a musical style that is both an offshoot of jazz and the embodiment of the music unique to the Bay Area, this group has it dialled. It’s essentially the perfect combination of R&B, jazz fusion and traditional jazz and it’s some of my favourite music to listen to at the moment.
If I have time mid-week, I will be at this one.
Get tickets here.
Listening guide:
- Veotis Latchison - Didn’t Make Pretty