The Jazz Composers Collective was a musician-run, non-profit organization based in New York City that was dedicated to advancing the development and presentation of music by forward-thinking composers. From its formation in 1992 until its dissolution in 2005, the Collective worked to construct an environment where participating artists could exercise their ideals of creating and risking through the exploration of new music, while building new audiences for creative jazz.

From 1992 through 2003 the Collective organized and presented an annual concert series that featured many of New York's most cutting-edge musicians and composers. Each concert was preceded by another edition of the Collective newsletter which contained descriptions "in the composers' words" about the music to be performed in the upcoming concert, as well as articles, poetry, and letters covering a broad range of subjects. The newsletter gave composers the rare opportunity to verbalize their thoughts concerning their music, philosophy, and approach to art.

From 2000-2005 the Collective organized the Jazz Composers Collective Festival at Jazz Standard - a yearly celebration of the music of the Collective's composers-in-residence held at the Jazz Standard club in New York City. The festival has been described by the New Yorker magazine as a "mainstay of the city's musical life."

Many of the ongoing projects that were debuted by the Collective are now more active than ever, touring, recording and developing new music. The spirit of the Collective - that of creative collaboration, risk-taking, and a dedication to modern composition in the jazz idiom - is carried forward by these groups and the composers who lead them.

Please follow the links below for a complete description of the Collective and its history, a list of the composers and musicians who have participated in our concerts, archived editions of our newsletter, and to view the Collective Festival postcards.