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Founded in 2004, the SFJAZZ Collective is our all-star resident ensemble and composer’s workshop that represents what’s happening now in jazz.

The concept behind the Collective’s yearly focus has been to perform newly commissioned pieces by each member and fresh arrangements of works by modern masters. Through this pioneering approach, simultaneously honoring music’s greatest figures while championing jazz’s up-to-the-minute directions, the SFJAZZ Collective has embodied the organization’s commitment to jazz as a living, ever-relevant art form.

For the 2025-26 Season, the septet turns its attention back to the late saxophone genius Wayne Shorter, whose work was the focus of the 2008 season, celebrating the 50th anniversary of one of his landmark albums. Shorter’s 1975’s Native Dancer was a high watermark in his output — a hugely influential collaboration with Brazilian legend Milton Nascimento whose influence continues to resonate. The Collective bring their interpretive power to the material, along with a fresh batch of original compositions inspired by Shorter’s mid-decade masterpiece.

Released by Columbia Records in January of 1975, Native Dancer is an early triumph of the so-called “world fusion” movement, blending jazz, rock, funk, and Brazilian elements over its nine tracks. Featuring notable Shorter compositions “Beauty and the Beast.” “Diana,” and “Ana Maria” as well as four Nascimiento works including the classic “Ponta de Areia,” Native Dancer is a landmark in modern jazz and a perfect vessel for fresh explorations.