About
.JPG/:/cr=t:10.79%25,l:0%25,w:100%25,h:45.94%25/rs=w:1209,h:605,cg:true)
Bio:
David Collins is a Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, and educator whose work blends experimental textures with jazz-rooted improvisation. A native of Memphis, Collins developed his musical instincts early, playing standards and classic country alongside his grandfather, Aubrey Morris (pianist for rockabilly legend Eddie Bond). His family home quickly became a hub for jam sessions, where he picked up piano, drums, guitar, and bass. By 15, he was performing weekly and reading music in his school’s band program.
Collins holds a B.A. in Jazz and Studio Performance from the University of Memphis, where he studied under Tim Goodwin, Sam Shoup, Jack Cooper, and Joe Restivo. His wide-ranging career spans touring, composing, arranging, and education, with accolades including grants from Music Export Memphis, the Urban Arts Commission, and the Memphis Medical District Collaborative. His original compositions and arrangements have been featured in public performances, commissioned works, and studio albums—including two releases added to the Memphis Public Library’s Memphis Sound Connection archive. From 2022 to 2025, Collins hosted 2722, an all original sci-fi/ambient radio show on WYXR 91.7 FM.
As a performer, Collins leads the genre-blurring ensembles Frog Squad, Freak Squid, and Stroke Photos, and recently contributed guitar to Deepstaria Enigmatica’s The Eternal Now Is the Heart of a New Tomorrow (ESP-Disk), praised in Downbeat Magazine for its “advanced flow of sensitised improvisation.”
In addition to performing, Collins is a dedicated educator with over eight years of experience teaching students of all ages. He taught at Memphis Music Academy and Lausanne Collegiate School before relocating to New York in 2025, where he continues to balance teaching with recording, composing, and live performance.
Press
David Collins’ B-Side Residencies Bear Fruit
David Collins’ B-Side Residencies Bear Fruit
David Collins’ B-Side Residencies Bear Fruit
Multi-genre composer finds an outlet for new music.
Free Your Mind (And Your Ears Will Follow)
David Collins’ B-Side Residencies Bear Fruit
David Collins’ B-Side Residencies Bear Fruit
Avant-garde music’s alive and well in Memphis — and growing.
The Dynamite Dozen
David Collins’ B-Side Residencies Bear Fruit
David Collins Evokes a City Built on Nature
2022’s greatest albums, straight out of Memphis, plus the best archival release.
David Collins Evokes a City Built on Nature
The Wrest of the Story: Goner Brings Fabled Improv Group to B-Side
David Collins Evokes a City Built on Nature
David Collins, onetime jazz major at the University of Memphis, now the principal force behind avant-garde jazz group Frog Squad, is telling me about the players on his new album, Memphis, self-released on digital platforms last week
Community Spotlight with David Collins
The Wrest of the Story: Goner Brings Fabled Improv Group to B-Side
The Wrest of the Story: Goner Brings Fabled Improv Group to B-Side
My music focuses on contrast, color, and texture.
The Wrest of the Story: Goner Brings Fabled Improv Group to B-Side
The Wrest of the Story: Goner Brings Fabled Improv Group to B-Side
The Wrest of the Story: Goner Brings Fabled Improv Group to B-Side
Memphis hasn’t offered many chances to hear music that’s completely spontaneous since the glory days of the ’90s, when the likes of George Cartwright roamed these streets. But that’s changing.
Frog Squad Gives Satie a Jumpstart
Frog Squad Gives Satie a Jumpstart
Frog Squad Gives Satie a Jumpstart
Frog Squad has been turning heads for a few years now, especially among free jazz aficionados. But unlike, say, Dopolarians or other strictly “free” combos based solely on improvisation, Frog Squad has a secret weapon: composition.
Music Video Monday: Frog Squad
Frog Squad Gives Satie a Jumpstart
Frog Squad Gives Satie a Jumpstart
“Solar System in Peabody” is a musical tribute to sculptor Yvonne Bobo’s Around We Go and Without Boundaries, both located in Peabody Park on Cooper. It was written by Khari Wynn and David Collins, and features saxophonist/flutist Hope Clayburn, keybaordist Dave Hash, drummer John Harrison, and saxophonists Michael Shults and Aaron Phillips.