SFJAZZ Hosts SFCM Students for Charles Tolliver's John Coltrane Tribute

Brass students from SFCM—along with their Roots, Jazz, and American Music (RJAM) peers—joined jazz legend Charles Tolliver at his tribute to John Coltrane in October.

RJAM students routinely play at SFJAZZ, whether it's at the Joe Henderson Lab for a side-by-side concert with faculty or augmenting larger ensembles, like for Chris Potter or Stewart Copeland's Police Deranged project. For the Tolliver concert, RJAM was represented by Xitlalli Estrella (alto saxophone), Trent Horio (tenor saxophone, flute), Matthew Gee (trumpet), and Graham Houpt and Fernando Serrano (trombone and euphonium). But the expanded band for the evening also recruited non-RJAM musicians Katie Urrutia (baritone saxophone, flute), Josías Muñiz (euphonium), Cole Fayemi (tuba), and Davian Barba, Mykah Williams, Owen Sheridan, and Ian Dutra on horn.

SFCM musicians play with Charles Tolliver at SFJAZZ. (Credit: Rick Swig)

Tolliver, a trumpet and cornet player, called for this unique lineup to mirror John Coltrane's Africa/Brass, Coltrane's first record for Impulse! Records. Lured away from Atlantic by Impulse! founder Creed Taylor, Coltrane's contract with the label was, at the time, the best a jazz musician had ever received from a label, second only to Coltrane's old employer Miles Davis' with Columbia.

SFCM musicians play with Charles Tolliver at SFJAZZ. (Credit: Rick Swig)

The arrangements for Africa/Brass were largely the work of Eric Dolphy, another trailblazing reedsman of the 1960s, though Coltrane later acknowledged that McCoy Tyner, his regular pianist, also had a hand in them. Unfortunately, after Dolph's early death, his scores for Africa/Brass were lost until 1998, when one of the bassists on the record, Reggie Workman, recruited Tolliver to transcribe the score from the record—and add a choir.

SFCM musicians play with Charles Tolliver at SFJAZZ. (Credit: Rick Swig)

Months later, the reconstituted Africa/Brass debuted at Lincoln Center; it was also performed in 2011, 2023 and 2026, with the SFJAZZ performance being its fifth showing. A review of the SFJAZZ performance on Backstage Bay Area highlighted SFCM's contributions to the evening, reading in part: "The Conservatory players contributed both force and texture … their collective entrances could transform the room. Tolliver's direction made those transitions visible: fingers spread, palms lowered, then hands lifting to ask for more. An approving thumbs-up briefly completed the exchange."

SFCM musicians play with Charles Tolliver at SFJAZZ. (Credit: Rick Swig)

"Here was the evening’s most persuasive expression of continuity across generations," the review continues. "Younger musicians performed this demanding repertoire under the direction of an artist who had heard Coltrane firsthand. Whatever preparation preceded the concert, the onstage exchange was tangible—in the cues, the responses, and the effort to give the arrangements their full expressive range."

Learn more about studying Brass or Roots, Jazz, and American Music at the Conservatory.