Isaiah Collier & the Chosen Few Ignite in San Francisco

It’s a Saturday night in San Francisco here on 14th September, and there are a lot of choices in the regional music scene, as usual. The Black Cat Jazz Supper Club is one of the weekend’s hot spots, with Isaiah Collier & the Chosen Few back in town for a four-night run. Ironically, located in the City’s notorious Tenderloin district, the Black Cat serves as an oasis in the neighborhood by hosting world-class jazz artists in its classy underground setting.

Saxophonist Isaiah Collier is having a big year as he and the Chosen Few are about to release their second full-length album of 2024, The World Is on Fire, due 18th October. It’s a companion to The Almighty released in April, presenting more of a socio-political commentary on the insanity of the past five years as a yin to the yang of the spiritual jazz vibe on The Almighty. “This project is a sonic exploration, blending sounds, consciousness, and activism to raise awareness about the pressing issues of our time,” says Collier in a press release. “Through my music, I strive to capture and personify the profound impact of the challenges we face.”

When PopMatters first caught the quartet at the Black Cat this past March, we were blown away by Collier’s skill on the sax as well as the spiritual aspect of the new tunes from The Almighty. At 26 years of age, Collier imparts the aura of an old soul with music that conjured visions of influential jazz greats like John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Wayne Shorter, and Sun Ra. But here, Collier suggests that most of tonight’s repertoire will again come from his next impending new album. 

The quarter opens with an upbeat jam, with Isaiah Collier and pianist Dante Milano coming hot out of the gate. There’s an urgency in the tempo with a big solo from Milano as Collier sits out, while bassist Micah Collier (no relation) pushes an energetic groove over some furious percussion from pinch-hit drummer Miles Turk (who turns out to be filling in on short notice due to a medical emergency.) The group commands the room here on “The Time Is Now”, which turns out to be the first track from The World Is on Fire. The vibe cools down a bit on “Trials and Tribulations”, a bluesier ballad of sorts inspired by the systemic racism that leads to innocent black teenagers getting shot and killed by overly aggressive gun owners. 

Collier takes a moment to speak to how the songs on the new album have served as an observation log for everything that’s transpired from before the COVID-19 pandemic to afterward, noting that he was in Chicago when the George Floyd protests were going on and that “it was intense”. He notes that “there is no conflict in the world without art, just as there is no resolution without it” and that artists can serve as agents of change on a positive level regardless of politics because everyone is still human. A ballad titled “Body & Soul” slows things down with a romantic vibe, picking up in the middle with some more swing and a sax solo in the classic cool jazz mode of the 1950s.

Then it’s back to new songs with “Crash”, launching with a dynamic piano melody before the rest of the quartet comes in. It feels like a more uplifting number with Isaiah Collier’s major key tenor sax lines, leading to a smoking sax solo. Then the piano sits out for a trio jam, then just sax and drums as Collier goes off in a dazzling “sheets of sound” mode where it seems amazing that he can generate so many notes yet still impart so much feeling. It all makes even more sense upon reading in the new album press release that the song was inspired by “reflecting on the subtle, yet profound impacts of economic collapse” as an exploration of “how such crises often start imperceptibly before making a significant impact” on society.

Collier sings out the title of the early set’s finale, a swinging tune titled “Our Truth Is Marching On”. The sentiment speaks volumes as the band gets a toe-tapping groove while Collier throws down some triumphant sax lines that inspire hope for the good people of humanity coming together to save the day. 

The late set opens an hour later with “The Hate You Give is the Love You Lose”, another zeitgeisty number with a melodic opening that leads to a big jam that feels like something of a throwback to the mid-1960s while also looking forward. Isaiah Collier and pianist Dante Milano engage in some stellar interplay here as the quartet navigates a dynamic sonic landscape. “Ahmaud Arbery” is a tribute to a man murdered in a hate crime by three white men while jogging in a suburban Georgia neighborhood. The song features Collier using a mini-megaphone for some sonic distortion to help convey the turmoil before giving way to a more cathartic jam.

Collier takes another moment to speak of how the late set’s songs are all from The World Is on Fire, which he spent writing over the past four and a half years as he contemplated everything that’s been going on. He talks about the importance of the arts and how frustrating it was not to be able to go on tour when the world was shut down in 2020-2021. But he goes on to note that every significant era of music had its adversity, such as the tumultuous times that led Marvin Gaye to write “What’s Going On” in response. “The music is a byproduct of our circumstances; our job is to serve as scribes of our time,” including the good, the bad, and the ugly.

This leads to “Amerikka the Ugly” with guest trumpeter Daniel Harrison III, forming a quintet for a melancholy exploration of themes in which the studio track features Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson (who chaired the January 6th Committee) rebuking former President Donald Trump for his foul role in disregarding democracy to incite that dark day’s deadly insurrection against America. 

Harrison stays on for “The World Is on Fire”, one of the most dynamic jams of the evening, as the quintet delivers a high-energy blast of full jazz power. Fierce opening solos give way to the horns sitting out as the rhythm section takes the lead, followed by Milano taking the baton. Harrison comes back in for a sensational solo over the hot groove, with Turk crushing it on the drums as the jam starts to sound like a more uptempo take on Miles Davis’ classic “Milestones”. Then Collier takes the lead for a dazzling segment where he and Harrison go off together on sax and trumpet for a spectacular sequence to conclude the set. 

An encore on The World Is on Fire‘s closing track, “We Don’t Even Know Where We’re Headed”, feels like a fitting finale for this sonic journey after the wild ride of “The World Is on Fire”. It’s a bluesy contemplative ballad that wraps the evening in elegant style, with Isaiah Collier singing out the title again like a troubadour, providing a window into an unknown yet still hopeful future.