Silver Linings : Latest incarnation of inspiring SFJAZZ

Collective’s point of departure was the music of legend

Horace Silver Tuesday night at UCSB Campbell Hall
By Josef Woodard NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
March 4, 2010 10:43 AM

On one hand, the return of the SFJAZZ Collective,

Tuesday at Campbell Hall, was a case of déja vu all
over again, this being the fourth local appearance by a
project that started back in 2004. On the other hand,
things inherently change as they embrace tradition in
this band, which has grown into one of the more
exciting entities in the current jazz scene.

By blending respect for history and tradition and the

natural jazz yearning for the new and the "now," the
eight-piece "little big band" Collective is a blissfully
evolving and revolving musical organism. It fosters and
commissions new material each year, written by a cast DAVIDBAZEMORE.COM PHOTO
of top-drawer musical characters.

So what began as a project, an ambitious offshoot of the San Francisco Jazz Festival and more or
less led by tenor saxist Joshua Redman (involved in the first two Santa Barbara concerts, also at
Campbell Hall), shifted gears to include such high-stakes players as tenor titan Joe Lovano and
trumpeter Dave Douglas in the version that landed at the Lobero Theatre in 2008.

As for this year's model, alive and kicking and thinking and swinging on Tuesday night, the only
charter member was alto saxist Miguel Zenon, while drummer Eric Harland dates back to 2006.
Bassist Matt Penman, trombonist Robin Eubanks and vibraphonist Stefon Harris have been in the
fold for two-plus years, and the newcomers are pianist Edward Simon (replacing charter member
Renee Rosnes), tenor saxist Mark Turner and trumpeter Avishai Cohen.

Again, things change as they remain, and the Collective's essential sound and musical philosophy
prevails even as the personnel shifts. Roll call aside, the most important thing to understand, and
the message rang out clearly at Campbell Hall, is that these players are among the finest and
most thoughtful jazz musicians of our day, brought together under one roof and one rubric in the
Collective.
As part of the annual structure of the Collective's residency, involving commissioning, a
residency, a tour and a resulting live recording each season, a legendary jazz composer is chosen
as a source of tribute and new arrangements. This year, the focus was on the music of the
melodic and groove-inclined pianist-composer great Horace Silver.

Tuesday's set kicked off with Mr. Harland's jubilant, riff-based and occasionally abstract take on
the Silver classic "Senor Blues," followed by Mr. Eubanks' propulsive but also odd-metered
version of Mr. Silver's "The Lady from Johannesburg," replete with a stunning solo by the
trombonist, certainly one of the greatest living jazz bone players. Closing the set, proper, on a
high and disarmingly intricate note, was Mr. Harris' stirring new arrangement of Mr. Silver's
"Cape Verdean Blues," its coda section turning evermore rhythmically tricky, and a fine setting
for a knotty-cool drum solo by Mr. Harland.

Each member also is assigned to write a new composition for this group - now the proud owners
of a sizable songbook of charts. Highlights from that original segment of the Collective
songbook on Tuesday included Mr. Cohen's variation-based "Suite for Ward Martin Tavares" (its
title an allusion to Horace Silver's other names), and Mr. Penman's "Triple Threat," which opens
with pensive softness but rallies into rousing energy.

For an encore, the band closed on a cool, almost hymnal note, with the contemplative Silver
ballad "Peace," as arranged by Mr. Turner - who nicely demonstrated his proven penchant for
haunting lyricism. The full and varied evening of jazz, circa 2010 but with well-rooted tentacles
in jazz history, closed with a poised luster.