How exciting to see so many all-star jazz greats performing together. The SFJAZZ Collective is a talented cohort of artists who perform arrangements of works by modern composers and also newly commissioned pieces by each member of the band.
In 2020, the Collective was scheduled to perform an in-person Tiny Desk concert, but it was canceled due to the pandemic. We are still working to make that happen—but in the meantime, let’s enjoy this uplifting Tiny Desk (home) concert, recorded in The Joe Henderson Lab at SFJAZZ, a large, sunny venue that serves as both a live performance space and as the Collective’s rehearsal space.
Earlier this year, the ensemble released New Works Reflecting the Moment (Live from the SFJAZZ Center 2021), an album addressing racial injustices, the ongoing pandemic and political polarization. In this concert, the musicians perform three songs from that project. “Ay Bendito” was written by tenor saxophonist David Sánchez, and its title is slang for “oh my God” or “aw man”; it’s also subtitled “The Struggle Continues.”