»Every year or two, an outstanding improviser emerges from the Chicago jazz scene who stands out from the long tradition of jazz with incredible maturity and freedom,« marvelled The New York Times about tenor saxophonist Isaiah Collier. With his blend of blues, spiritual sounds and ecstatic solos, he is already considered one of the most interesting voices in jazz.
Isaiah Collier feels a special connection to the legendary tenor saxophonist John Coltrane. For his second album, »Cosmic Transitions«, he even holed up in the legendary Rudy Van Gelder Studio, where Coltrane once recorded his masterpiece »A Love Supreme«, and recorded his own album on Coltrane’s birthday, 23 September, using the original equipment from »A Love Supreme«. It’s hard to get any closer to his role model!
Collier is now demonstrating this spiritual connection at a special concert at the Elbphilharmonie: to mark the 100th birthday of the jazz icon, he and his quartet will perform a tribute to John Coltrane. The focus is less on recreating the music and more on aligning oneself with Coltrane’s spiritual urgency and his belief in music as a transformative force. Collier does not look back nostalgically, but anchors Coltrane’s legacy firmly in the present.
PERFORMERS
Isaiah Collier saxophone
Davis Whitfield piano
Conway Campbell bass
Tim Regis drums
PROGRAM
»Collier Plays Coltrane«
