David Collins is a Memphis based multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger. He has recorded music with artists such as Frog Squad, Syrrup, Rodrick Duran and the Big Sky band, Talibah Safiya, Agori Tribe, The Burners, Jareef Greene, Jupiter Sky Fish and Neptune’s Army, Misterioso Africano, New Saturn Collective, and more. In 2016, Collins received a B.A. of music in Jazz and Studio Performance from the University of Memphis where he studied with Joe Restivo, Tim Goodwin, Jack Cooper, and Sam Shoup. He took courses in arranging and played in big band, jazz combos, and percussion ensembles. He received multiple scholarships and played vibraphone and guitar in the premier jazz band. Collins is bandleader for Memphis groups Frog Squad and Not Sure. He is working on a full length album under his own name to be released November 5, 2020. More about Frog Squad below. Frog Squad is an outlet for creative expression and sound exploration based in Memphis, TN. Their songs pull heavily on improvisation within loose structures, creating a psychedelic, avant-garde, jazz sound. The group curates and arranges songs from artists such as Theloious Monk, Erik Satie, and Horace Silver, and bandleader David Collins composes eclectic, orginial music. Overall, Frog Squad gently defies the standards of what defines “good music” by composing song templates with experimental elements. Notable performances include The Hot Springs Jazz Fest, A Tribute to Memphis Jazz, Hot Water Hills Festival, Benjamin L. Hooks’ ‘Front Porch Music Series’, and an opening slot for Bobby Sparks. Frog Squad currently releases a new live recording every 5 months. In Fall of 2019, Frog Squad released “Solar System in Peabody” a full length work funded by the Urban Arts Commission. The Memphis Flyer has called it “one of the most incredible pieces of music that came across our threshold this year.”
