SFJAZZ Collective performs Stefon Harris’ arrangement of Wayne Shorter’s “Go”.
SFJAZZ Collective is made up of eight of the best jazz musicians on the planet, and in February 2008 we had the great honor of hosting one of their 2008 tour concerts, from which recordings and photos from our studio later appeared on their triple-CD Live 2008: 5th Annual Concert Tour.
The band rolled in a day ahead of time to take care of all the technical arrangements (mic placements, quick run-throughs, etc), and then the following day they performed a blistering 2-hour + concert featuring over a dozen tunes, and I had a front row seat! Some were originals, and some were arrangements of pieces by jazz great Wayne Shorter, whose music was SFJAZZ Collective’s theme for 2008. I was entirely blown away by the entire band, but especially so by bassist Matt Penman and vibraphonist Stefon Harris, whose Shorter arrangement is featured here in this video. Alto player Miguel Zenon and Harris are the soloists.
About 70 people were in attendance for this. SFJAZZ Collective’s other stops included amazing rooms like Frederick P. Rose Hall/Rose Theatre (home of Jazz at Lincoln Center), so you can imagine how an intimate concert by such high-caliber musicians like the one given at 58N6 was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me and for many others in the audience. Check out the video to see the close quarters!
SFJAZZ Collective 2008: Miguel Zenon - alto sax, Joe Lovano - Tenor Sax, Dave Douglas - trumpet, Robin Eubanks - trombone, Stefon Harris - vibraphone, Renee Rosnes - piano, Matt Penman - bass, and Eric Harland - drumset.
