17.09.2024
Text: İlayda Güler
Music of love, compassion and faith: Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few
At just 25 years old, he is a musician following in the footsteps of jazz greats like John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Sun Ra, Albert Ayler, Ari Brown, and such. With every breath he infuses into his saxophone, Isaiah Collier continues to shape the landscape of today’s jazz. As the rising star of the Chicago scene prepares to perform with The Chosen Few orchestra at Babylon on October 2, as part of the 34th Akbank Jazz Festival, let's take a dive into Collier’s personal history and take a closer look at his music.
The part of the story that especially interests the listener, meaning the day he picked up his first saxophone, coincides with Isaiah Collier's 11th birthday. Growing up in a family of musicians, Collier later earned diplomas from the Chicago High School for the Performing Arts and the Jazz Institute of Chicago. Thanks to his strong intuition, he rapidly improved his practice and became a virtuoso as the years progressed. Yet in addition to “saxophone player”, he has other titles to his credit such as composer, curator, sound scientist, activist, and educator.
Isaiah Collier’s interest in spiritual jazz, which began in his school years, and his deep admiration and respect for the icons of this genre, pushed him to find his own shamanic genius and his own path. While accompanying many musicians with his saxophone and being named a fellow at the AACM School of Music; he releases his first full-length Return of the Black Emperor with his band The Chosen Few, in 2018. He also adopts “The Black Emperor” as his pseudonym with an endless homage to Black culture and the unique sounds it offers.
The story of Cosmic Transitions, another album from 2021, features some very special elements. For example, it was recorded on John Coltrane’s birthday, September 23. Moreover, it was recorded at Rudy Van Gelder’s legendary studio in New Jersey, using some of the analog equipment that was also used for Coltrane’s 1965 classic “A Love Supreme”. This huge motivation is clearly reflected in the results. After the release of Cosmic Transitions, which is structured in five parts based on the Mercury retrograde, Isaiah Collier was recognized as “a visionary who takes the tradition he grew up in one step further.”
The Almighty, the latest collection from Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few, released last spring, offers a refreshing perspective on our troubled world, where evil seems pervasive. Let Collier himself explain the ideas behind the album, which encourages listeners to believe that everyone can contribute to saving the world by elevating their vibrations towards collective harmony. He says, “Sometimes a situation is dark, but life is like a painting. We are all in the same gallery but on different sides of the room. Once I come to the side you are standing on and look at the same thing, only and only then can we see something different when we shift our perspective.” While you are reading this, why not listen to “Perspective (Peace and Love)”?
Isaiah Collier’s goal with music is to reach the past and the future in that single “moment”; he sees this endeavor itself as a sonic time machine. He describes jazz as “a message from the ancestors” and believes that his job is to transmit it to new generations, to those who are willing to listen. However, his only inspiration is not the classical figures; he cares about linking the sounds created in genres with obvious close ties to jazz with their source, and to include all Black music. Kendrick Lamar, Earth, Wind & Fire, D'Angelo, Jill Scott are also among his inspirations.
Just like Coltrane, Isaiah Collier seeks to create sound beyond all established boundaries. During a performance, his sole focus is to be fully present and to listen to everything happening around him. When he is not playing, he waits and listens to the stories told by his fellow musicians, without preoccupying himself with his next move. He describes this motivation with impressive insight, saying, “Some people have fire, others have air. That’s how I hear. There has to be a balance.”