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Isaiah Collier
Twenty-six-year-old Isaiah Collier is a musical virtuoso in the truest sense of the phrase. He began playing saxophone at age 11, and his intuitive proficiency earned him attention early on. Ever since, his band Isaiah Collier and The Chosen Few has been turning ears.
There’s a regal, elegant manner to Isaiah’s stage presence: he’s over 6 feet tall, thin, deep brown, with high cheekbones. When not playing, he is patiently waiting – not contemplating his next move, but listening to the musicians who accompany him, listening to their stories. He explains that he’s never really hearing himself, he’s hearing others play: some people have fire, others have air. “That’s how I hear. There has to be a balance.”
Isaiah Coller’s sound is a dynamic flurry of metaphors, yet he can hold back when necessary. He plays his influences, which he describes as a “sonic time machine; you can’t really put a time or destination on it.” As far as he where he plans to take his music, Collier says, “I reach backwards, and forwards simultaneously when creating art and what is ahead of me is the past.”
He has released four albums to date, Parallel Universe (Night Dreamer, 2023) I AM BEYOND (Division 81 Records, 2022), Cosmic Transitions (JAZZ, 2021), and Return of the Black Emperor (JAZZ, 2018).
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New Releases From Isaiah Collier, Friends And Neighbours, The Choir Invisible And More
by Bob Osborne
On this show we feature new releases from Isaiah Collier, Friends and Neighbours, The Choir Invisible, Jonas Cambien, Lynne Arriale, Vijay Iyer with Linda May Han Oh and Tyshawn Sorey, Jim Baker with Steve Hunt and Jakob Heinemann, Louis Stewart, David Leon, Old Mountain featuring Tony Malaby, Sonic Tender, Vinicius Cantuaria, Dave Douglas, Giuseppe Doronzo with Andy Moor and Frank Rosaly, Disaster Pony, and, Scheen Jazzorkester & Cortex. Playlist Show Intro 00:00 Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few ...
read moreIsaiah Collier: Parallel Universe
by Gareth Thompson
The direct-to-disc recording equipment in Haarlem's Artone studio resembles a vintage control room for time travel, or maybe the record deck in a cyberpunk loft. And yes, that's Haarlem, not Harlem, though one could be excused for mixing them up here. This is where Isaiah Collier came to record Parallel Universe, a valiant and affirmative album full of joyful noises. Musicians who trek to Artone cut their work onto acetate from single-take live performances. But anyone expecting a simplified version ...
read moreFestival International de Jazz de Montreal 2023
by Mike Chamberlain
Festival International de Jazz de Montreal Montreal, Quebec June 29-July 8, 2023 Not many cities like a party like Montreal, and the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal (FIJM) has been the biggest party in Montreal since its inception in 1980. Not even smoke from wildfires in northern Quebec could obscure the love that Montrealers and tourists from outside the city have for the festival. This year's 43rd edition of the FIJM was ...
read moreI Am: Beyond
by Chris May
Tenor saxophone and drums duos were a thing at least as early as the 1950s, but John Coltrane and Elvin Jones elevated the format a decade later. Among their most exalted forays was the 27:04 title track of Coltrane's One Down, One Up: Live At The Half Note (Impulse, 2005), recorded in 1965. In case you missed the news, that album was given an audio upgrade in early 2022 on the Swiss-based ezz-thetics label's remastered Song Of Praise: Live New ...
read moreIsaiah Collier, David Binney, Charlie Peacock, Cecil L.Recchia &More New Releases
by Ludovico Granvassu
Modern takes on old and new standards, fascinating singers, compelling pianists and much more in this set.Happy listening!PlaylistBen Allison Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Cecil L. Recchia Chitlins Con Carne" Play Blue (Association Harpo) 0:16 Host talks 3:48 Samara Joy The Trouble with Me Is You" Samara Joy (Whirlwind) 5:56 David Binney Blue Sky" A Glimpse of the Eternal (Criss Cross Jazz) 8:29 Host talks 14:08 Charlie Peacock Blue for You" ...
read moreIsaiah Collier and The Chosen Few, David Boykin Expanse & BSP Trio
by Maurice Hogue
I decided to take a break and let the music do the talking this time out, so this is an almost host-less episode of One Man's Jazz, filled with some great music as always. Featured are Chicago saxophonists Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few, David Boykin Expanse and Dave Rempis (with Kuzu). There's more from James Brandon Lewis' Red Lily Quintet, the BSP Trio from Montreal, England's Trevor Watts with the Moire Music Orchestra, more bands from Argentina, and further ...
read moreAngel Bat Dawid & Tha Brothahood: Live
by Chris May
When the Chicago-based clarinetist, vocalist, composer, poet and spiritual-jazz shaman Angel Bat Dawid performed with Tha Brothahood at the London Jazz Festival in November 2019, she was riding high on the critical acclaim surrounding her recently released debut album, The Oracle (International Anthem). A cosmic lightning bolt of free jazz, mutant funk, electronica and spoken word with an impact on a par with Samuel L. Jackson's reading of Ezekiel 25:17 in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, The Oracle confronts the ugliness ...
read more"Parallel Universe review - an inspired homage to the giants of jazz and soul (4 stars). Recorded in single-take live performances, the Chicago multi-instrumentalist deftly throws funk, gospel, soul and his own fine voice into the mix"
– Neil Spencer, The Guardian
“Still in his early 20s, Collier is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, though he focuses on saxophones.”
– Leor Galil, Chicago Reader
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From: The AlmightyBy Isaiah Collier