Isaiah Collier + jam session s Ondřej Štveráček Quartet

The contemporary Chicago jazz scene is widely regarded as one of the most vibrant and progressive jazz hubs in the world today. It is from this fertile environment that the remarkable Isaiah Collier emerged – a multi-talented saxophonist, composer, educator, and activist.

Collier has built his reputation on his ability to organically connect a deep reverence for the jazz tradition with a spirit of boundless innovation. His artistic range is remarkable, as demonstrated both through his own visionary projects and through collaborations with some of the most distinctive figures in contemporary music, including Angel Bat Dawid and her ensemble Brotherhood, avant-garde trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith III, bassist Junius Paul, and even hip-hop star Chance the Rapper.

A key milestone in Collier’s current artistic trajectory is the ambitious concert program Collier Plays Coltrane, created in anticipation of the upcoming centennial celebrations of the birth of John Coltrane, one of the most important and influential musicians of the twentieth century. Needless to say, Collier’s approach is far removed from the mere mechanical reproduction of iconic compositions. Instead, he engages with Coltrane’s legacy through a contemporary lens.
Collier had already demonstrated this profound dialogue with history in 2021 on the universally acclaimed album Cosmic Transitions, recorded with his ensemble. The album received the highest possible rating – five stars – from the prestigious magazine DownBeat and collected numerous Album of the Year awards. Its success was undoubtedly enhanced by the extraordinary story behind its creation. The recording sessions took place at the legendary Rudy Van Gelder Studio, symbolically on Coltrane’s birthday. Furthermore, Collier’s ensemble made use of part of the original analogue equipment on which Coltrane recorded his groundbreaking spiritual masterpiece A Love Supreme in the 1960s.

In the current concert project Collier Plays Coltrane, this historical and spiritual lineage is brought directly to the stage. Collier’s saxophone playing carries the same urgency, rawness, and profound inner spirituality that once defined Coltrane himself, yet filtered through the energy and perspective of a twenty-eight-year-old artist responding to the realities of the present day.

However, Isaiah Collier’s performance will be far from the end of this exceptional evening. Immediately following the main concert program, an open jam session will take place, giving every musician who brings an instrument the opportunity to participate. The session will be opened by leading Czech saxophonist Ondřej Štveráček, one of the foremost figures of the Czech jazz scene and a highly symbolic choice for the role. Štveráček has long been known for the profound influence that John Coltrane’s music has had on his artistic development. While his technically brilliant and energetic playing clearly echoes elements of Coltrane’s aesthetic, he has transformed those influences into a completely original and distinctive musical language of his own.