By Ed Enright | Published August 2026
Taking up the mantle of the influential Jazz Composers Collective — a non-profit assemblage that included such forward-thinking artists as Ben Allison, Michael Blake, Ron Horton, Ted Nash and Frank Kimbrough from 1992 to 2005 — the New England Jazz Collaborative is an artist-led entity dedicated to fostering a stylistically diverse range of new music from today’s top contributors to the large ensemble canon. Formed five years ago when percussionist Jeremy Cohen reached out to like-minded colleagues and peers in need of resources to have their original music properly performed and recorded, the group has been actively commissioning and presenting new works for 17-piece big band. Tributaries is the collaborative’s first album, consisting of six original pieces by four of its composer-bandmembers: Cohen, clarinetist Darryl Harper, electronic musician Matan Rubinstein and saxophonist Sam Spear. It’s a strong and vibrant debut that covers a wide range of stylistic territory and offers something for everyone, in keeping with the collaborative’s all-are-welcome ethos of creating music that’s accessible and engaging. The program ranges from classic New Orleans swing, progressive jazz and odd-meter funk to West African highlife, Third Stream hybridism and lush balladry, evoking an expanse of moods and textures. Like tributary rivers leading to a glorious confluence of all things jazz, the carefully curated playlist moves fluidly across styles and traditions, teeming with compelling individual expression and resonating with a massive ensemble sound that highlights the skill and versatility of the collaborative’s improvising instrumentalists. Many of the orchestra members on Tributaries share strong ties to the Greater Boston area, including trumpeters Jason Palmer and Bijon Watson, saxophonists Felipe Salles and Brian Landrus, and guitarist Eric Hofbauer, while others hail from more remote corners of the globe. The unifying and risk-embracing influence of ensemble conductor Ken Schaphorst, chairman of jazz studies at New England Conservatory, helps this auspicious initial outing from New England Jazz Collaborative carry forward the East Coast’s long legacy of championing heavyweight composer-arrangers such as Gunther Schuller, George Russell and Bob Brookmyer — while bringing much-deserved attention to rising-star players like guitarists Mitch Selib and Eric Hofbauer, saxophonists Temidayo Balogun and Allen Chase, drummer Lumanyano Mzi, bassist Bob Nieske and pianist Emily Pruneau. There’s great honor in striving for originality in jazz composition and performance, and, in the case of the dedicated, hard-working members and visionaries of New England Jazz Collaborative, it can also yield tremendous rewards, like Tributaries.
