Miguel Zenon Quartet

As a founding member of the SFJAZZ Collective in 2004, Miguel Zenón was a conspicuously talented, largely unknown 27-year-old saxophonist getting set to release his second album. A little over a decade later, Zenón is the most celebrated altoist of his generation, a multi-GRAMMY nominee and Guggenheim and MacArthur "Genius" Fellow who has extended jazz's conceptual reach with a series of albums exploring the music of his native Puerto Rico. Beyond his work as a performer, Zenón has been steadfastly devoted to education, teaching at prestigious institutions all over the world, and working tirelessly to bring music to the rural areas of Puerto Rico through his Caravana Cultural program. A deeply contemplative and expressive artist who cut his teeth as a member of the band led by tenor maestro David Sánchez (and now a bandmate in the SFJAZZ Collective), Zenón has helmed nine sessions to date that have delved deeply into his heritage in folkloric and orchestral settings, culminating in his masterful 2014 release Identities Are Changeable that incorporates innovative multi-media elements in live performances.