To date, the composers of focus have been Ornette Coleman (2004), John Coltrane (2005), Herbie Hancock (2006), Thelonious Monk (2007), Wayne Shorter (2008), McCoy Tyner (2009), Horace Silver (2010), Stevie Wonder (2011), Chick Corea (2012), Joe Henderson (2014), Michael Jackson (2015), Miles Davis (2016), Ornette Coleman, Stevie Wonder, & Thelonious Monk (2017), and Antonio Carlos Jobim (2018).

For its tenth anniversary tour in 2013, the SFJAZZ Collective performed compositions from the previous nine years.

The SFJAZZ Collective convenes in San Francisco each spring for a three-week residency.

Throughout this rehearsal period the octet workshops the season's new repertoire and interacts with the Bay Area community through SFJAZZ's education programs for youth and adults.

Following each year's season, SFJAZZ Records releases a limited-edition CD set.