San Francisco Jazz (SFJAZZ) is a non-profit organisation devoted to the promotion and dissemination of jazz that is based in the California city of San Francisco. In 1983, the city’s Jazz Festival was held for the first time, organised by this institution, which since January 2013 has had an entire building in the neighbourhood of Hayes Valley, the SFJAZZ Center, designed by Mark Cavagnero, with a concert hall included. It is considered the first free to access building built specifically for the practice and teaching of jazz.

In 2004, SFJAZZ created the SFJAZZ Collective, a group, generally an octet, of changing members and repertoires, which each year undertakes a new project from its headquarters at the SFJAZZ Center.

The SFJAZZ Collective was founded by the artistic director Randall Kline and by the saxophone player Joshua Redman. Each year it is formed by a selection of musicians chosen among the best performers and composers in contemporary jazz. In order to obtain its own personality and distinctive sound, the SFJAZZ Collective organises a gathering each season over several weeks at its headquarters. During that period, the group works on a new repertoire. They interact with the community in the bay area through educational projects aimed at adults and elderly people, before subsequently embarking on a series of concerts on a national and international tour.

This approach has made the SFJAZZ Collective one of the most dynamic and renowned groups in contemporary jazz. Not just that, since its creation twelve years ago, in each new gathering the group writes new arrangements for compositions by a specific artist, which it combines with its own songs composed by each of the members of the octet. Over this time, the SFJAZZ Collective has revived the work of greats from jazz, and not just jazz, such as Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk, Wayne Shorter, McCoy Tyner, Horace Silver, Stevie Wonder, Chick Corea, Michael Jackson and Miles Davis.

Due to the nature of the SFJAZZ Collective, which brings together musicians who are soloists, composers and leaders of bands, the group is a fantastic example of what is happening in contemporary jazz. Likewise, it is a demonstration that jazz has become a universal language thanks to the diversity of origins of its members. It shows how deeply rooted this genre is everywhere around the world. Its aim is to achieve a balance between tradition and innovation, in a way that, based on the lessons of the great jazz masters of the golden age, of the most traditional jazz, in short, that the group has always been respectful towards, they tackle modern and innovative approaches that are constantly evolving, like jazz itself, in their works. It could not have been otherwise, as the group includes many of the most renowned soloists, conductors and authors in contemporary jazz. This modern approach to classic repertoires through top-quality groups and an excellent artistic approach has been unanimously praised and renowned by global critics, and also earned several awards globally both due to the innovative approach of the repertoire as well as its excellent staging.