Exclusive: Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few

First time in Australia, this "once in a generation" musician is an exclusive to Bird's Basement Australia wide.

Imagine if you had seen one of the first concerts of Charlie Parker or John Coltrane. You would be cherishing that memory for a lifetime. This is what's on offer here. Nothing is garanteed in life, except this:  Isaia Collier will place his mark on the Jazz world. 

Twenty-fIVE-year-old Isaiah Collier is a musical virtuoso in the truest sense of the phrase. He began playing saxophone at age 11, and his intuitive proficiency earned him attention early on. Ever since, his band Isaiah Collier and The Chosen Few has been turning ears. There’s a regal, elegant manner to Isaiah’s stage presence: he’s over 6 feet tall, thin, deep brown, with high cheekbones. When not playing, he is patiently waiting – not contemplating his next move, but listening to the musicians who accompany him, listening to their stories. He explains that he’s never really hearing himself, he’s hearing others play: some people have fire, others have air. “That’s how I hear. There has to be a balance.” Isaiah Coller’s sound is a dynamic flurry of metaphors, yet he can hold back when necessary. He plays his influences, which he describes as a “sonic time machine; you can’t really put a time or destination on it.” As far as he where he plans to take his music, Collier says, “I reach backwards, and forwards simultaneously when creating art and what is ahead of me is the past.” Following the release of his recording Cosmic Transitions (Division 81 Records, 2021), which received a 5-star review in Downbeat Magazine, his profile has been rising with international tours and large festival bookings. His follow up recording, I Am Beyond (Division 81 Records, 2022) with drummer Michael Shekwoaga Ode incorporates elements of free jazz, funk, and spiritual music, and his latest recording Parallel Universe (Night Dreamer, 2023).

LINE UP:  Isaiah Collier Sax, Vocals, Aux percussion, Michael Shekwoaga Ode Drums, Julian Davis Reid Pian, Micah Collier Upright Bass

The Critics Speak:

“Still in his early 20s, Collier is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, though he focuses on saxophones.” – Leor Galil, Chicago Reader

“5 stars for Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few: Cosmic Transitions (Jazz, 2021). This offering is the third from the Chicago-based saxophonist who, at the age of 23, has transcended the realm of prodigy. It is not his age that shocks. It is what he’s playing.” – Joshua Myers, Downbeat Magazine

“Isaiah Collier: Parallel Universe review – an inspired homage to the giants of jazz and soul (4 stars). Recorded in single-take live performances, the Chicago multi-instrumentalist deftly throws funk, gospel, soul and his own fine voice into the mix.” – Neil Spencer, The Guardian

“A weighty LP featuring his quartet, the Chosen Few. Collier has established himself as an heir apparent to both the Chicago lineage and the post-Coltrane sax tradition” – Giovanni Russonello, New York Times.