WICKER PARK — Despite leading a 12-person ensemble and igniting fiery saxophone solos onstage, Isaiah Collier said he’s trying to learn that less is more.
“There’s so many ideas you can get from one small part. Sometimes you have an idea and they become musical intrusive thoughts,” the jazz musician told Block Club last week. “You can imply them without having to state them, though. The implications are where the hipness of music lies, because you’re bringing the audience an insider scoop.”
Chicago audiences have multiple opportunities to hear the native jazz star play this month. Collier will perform with his quartet the Chosen Few Saturday at Dorian’s in Wicker Park, 1939 W. North Ave. He will premiere his new album “The Almighty” with the larger ensemble The Celestials Wednesday at the Fulton Street Collective, 1821 W. Hubbard St.
The 25-year-old jazz musician grew up on the South Side and began playing saxophone at age 11. He graduated from West Town’s ChiArts high school and the Jazz Institute of Chicago, and was named Luminarts Fellow at the Chicago-based institution Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, or AACM.
Chicago-based label Division 81 released Collier’s latest album “The Almighty” last month, his fourth LP in as many years.
The members of the Chosen Few — pianist Julian Davis Reid, bassist Jeremiah Hunt, and drummer Michael Shekwoaga Ode — dive into Collier’s compositions like vacationers descending on a buffet. The fervor of the players and the positivity of the lyrics sung by Collier and guest Dee Alexander evoke spiritual jazz, but his concept for the album is more grounded.
“Introspection,” he said. “I hope this serves as a reminder to check in with one’s internal self.”
Jazz saxophonist Isaiah Collier. Credit: Chris Andrews
“Perspective” begins with a calming group chant of “peace and love” that erupts into a rollicking dance rhythm. It’s a tribute to Pharoah Sanders, pioneer of spiritual and free jazz who died in 2022. The album culminates in the 18-minute title track, where Collier blows with the force of the Big Bang over the expanded band the Celestials.
The band leader welcomes the challenge of writing for a larger group and establishing a shared culture of communication.
“Now it’s not just four people, it’s 12,” he said. “The main thing is to create the hivemind where we can all be individuals and focus on the general good of the music.”
Collier’s work has sometimes been described as Afrofuturist, but he thinks of it as Afromodernist.
“We’re too busy chasing the future, we don’t realize we’re in it,” he said. “We can only create based on our times and circumstances.”
Collier also dismisses any comparisons to John Coltrane, which is a bit like a young guitarist waving away comparisons to Jimi Hendrix.
“The main thing I have in common with John Coltrane is I’m a Black man in America. He’s dealing with the Jim Crow era, I’m dealing with the modern Jim Crow era,” Collier said. “If the music is reminiscent of something, then you have to ask the question: What has changed or what hasn’t?”
Collier is not slowing down. He will perform with drummer Charles Rick Heath IV the weekend of May 30-June 2 at Jazz Showcase, 806 S. Plymouth Court. After his Chicago shows, he is booked in Minneapolis and New York City, then he goes to Europe for shows across the continent in June and July.
He has also teased two more albums planned for release this year, including another collaboration with drummer Ode in their duo I AM.
Crowds across the globe are getting hip to Isaiah Collier and his ensembles, but it’s clear that his passion could fill an empty room.
“If what I do gives people something, that’s great, but I’m making a joyful noise because this is all I got right now,” he said. “I know what this music has done for me. I know it’s taken me from the South Side of Chicago to the world.”