Jesse Collins Quartet / JCQ

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Jesse Collins is a saxophonist whose music is rooted in the traditions of Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins and Sam Rivers. His recent performances and the release of " New York By Night" on Real Bean Records are bringing his musical identity to the consciousness of the greater Jazz public. 

Jesse Collins was born in Dover, NH, and spent his first five years living on Rock Rimmon Mountain . His first word was record.

After moving to New York state, Jesse took up drums, piano, and later the saxophone. He studied with Tom Sococio, who gave his students Charlie Parker solos to use as practice etudes.

When Jesse was 14 years old he made his first professional gigs. Later that year, he was named outstanding soloist at a Syracuse High School Band showcase and received a scholarship to attend the Eastern US Music Camp. This six week conservatory-style music camp was a 9 am-to-9 pm intensive music study where Jesse learned both classical and jazz theory as well as writing and arranging for orchestras and big bands.

In 1987 Jesse attended Ithaca College. There he studied classical saxophone with Steven Mauk.

In 1990, Jesse had the opportunity to attend the New School for Social Research's new Jazz Studies Program. This was a great opportunity for Jesse, because his classmates were musicians like Brad Mehldau, Peter Bernstein, Roy Hargrove, Larry Goldings, Chris Potter, Johannes Wiedenmuller, Jesse Davis, Mike Wilner, Omer Avital and Avishai Cohen, from whom Jesse could learn. In addition, the New School had a faculty that included Jaki Bayard, Reggie Workman, Jimmy Cobb, and Chico Hamilton, as well as many more of the great musicians of the history of jazz.

Jesse studied with Sam Rivers and Lee Konitz. He also had the great fortune to get a lesson or two with Arnie Lawrence, who Jesse holds dear as one of the influences on his playing and career.

From 1990 to 1997 and 2000 to 2005, Jesse lived in NYC where he led his own groups and worked as a sideman in many prominent New York City groups. He worked with such jazz luminaries as Jimmy Cobb, Sacha Perry, Omer Avital, Denis Charles, Carlos McKinney, Avishai Cohen, Boris Kozlow, and Johnny Ellis.

Jesse frequently attended jam sessions at the ST Bar and was a regular in the emerging scene at the jazz club Smalls. In 2003, with the help of entrepreneur David Latimer, Jesses first record "Introducing Jesse Collins" which was a compilation of live material from 1996 to 2002 recorded in the New York City clubs, including Smalls and Fat Cat, was released and was named a Jazz Times magazine Critics Pick Top 10 pick for 2003.

In 2005 Jesse moved to Syracuse, NY, to produce a new Jesse Collins Quartet sound and to work at Al's Wine and Whiskey Lounge and the Sterling Stage Festivals, where he could have a musical home to develop the new sound.

From 2005 to 2010 he performed with the Interstellar Funkateers and with many great local Syracuse groups including the Syracuse Symphony, the Central NY Jazz Orchestra, the Stan Colella Orchestra, and the DeSantis Orchestra.

In 2010 and 2011 Jesse formed the Jesse Collins Trio and performed at the Monthly Concert Series at Rainbow Shores hotel and at clubs and festivals in New York State.

In 2012 Jesse formed Real Bean Records with the also newly created Rock Rimmon Productions. Many sessions were held and all the gigs were used to find a set Jesse Collins working band and to experiment in new musical directions.

In 2012 Jesse released "New York by Night" for Real Bean Records (Real Bean 1112). It was a re-release of the live material from the Jazz Times magazine critic's Top 10 Pick "Introducing Jesse Collins" (Lat Cat 2103).

At the same time, Jesse had the great fortune to be reintroduced to some of the musical directions of former NYC acquaintances such as Brad Mehldau and Ari Hoenig, among others. He was thrilled by the new directions in straight ahead jazz music he heard and decided to create a new Jesse Collins group built on all of his writing in different jazz styles.

Throughout 2013 Jesse continued to play through out the northeast United States and upstate NY and played several times at the great music festival Sterling Stage, where he finalized the development of a new group called the Jesse Collins Quartet, or JCQ .

In the Fall 2013, he is releasing "JCQ / Free To Be Free,"  which features the great drummer Byron Cage, on Real Bean Records.