Englewood Jazz Festival
This project is partly supported by a CityArts Grants from The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events
HAMILTON PARK & Cultural Center • 513 W 72nd St, Chicago, IL
FREE ADMISSION
ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF CREATIVE MUSICIANS (AACM).
by Renée C. Baker, Adegoke Steve Colson, and Ernest Dawkins
for this year’s festival in honor of the AACM’s 60th anniversary
and Dee Alexander / Alexander McLean Project.
Ernest Dawkins
Saxophonist, composer, and former AACM Chairman, Ernest Dawkins is a leading voice of Chicago’s jazz and creative music scene. Founder of Live the Spirit Residency and the New Horizons Ensemble, his four-decade career spans acclaimed recordings, international commissions, and community-based arts leadership dedicated to advancing the African-American jazz tradition.
Extraordinary Popular Delusions (EPD)
For nearly 20 years, EPD has been a Monday-night fixture at Chicago’s Beat Kitchen, weaving spontaneous soundscapes that defy category—somewhere between jazz, free improvisation, and sheer musical instinct. Featuring Edward Wilkerson, Jr., Brian Sandstrom, Steve Hunt, and Jim Baker, the quartet draws on decades of collaboration across Chicago’s rich creative music scene. Armed with saxophones, clarinets, trumpet, bass, piano, drums, electronics, and more, EPD begins where the moment takes them and ends only when the journey feels complete.
Roscoe Mitchell
Internationally acclaimed composer, multi-instrumentalist, and founding member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago and the AACM, Roscoe Mitchell has redefined contemporary music through his visionary blend of improvisation and composition. A 2020 NEA Jazz Master and recent recipient of Chamber Music America’s inaugural Vanguard Award (2025), Mitchell’s influence spans generations, from his groundbreaking 1966 album Sound to recent orchestral commissions. Master of the full saxophone family, clarinets, flutes, and his own Percussion Cage, his work continues to shape the landscape of creative music worldwide.
Ben LaMar Gay
Chicago’s own Ben LaMar Gay is a visionary multi-instrumentalist and composer whose electro-acoustic collages weave jazz, folk, and improvisation into bold new soundscapes. Hailed by The New York Times as a “visionary musician,” his latest release Yowzers was named one of the Best Albums of 2025 by The Washington Post, Pitchfork, JazzTimes, and Digital Berliner. A Mellon Archives Innovation Fellow, Gay’s work resonates globally while staying rooted in the traditions of Chicago’s South Side.
Adegoke Steve Colson
Pianist, composer, saxophonist, and AACM member since 1972, Adegoke Steve Colson has performed internationally with innovators including Reggie Workman, David Murray, Wallace Roney, and Henry Threadgill. His acclaimed recordings appear on Columbia/Sony, ECM, Black Saint, and his own Silver Sphinx label (co-founded with wife and collaborator Iqua). Colson’s music bridges jazz, history, and social commentary, continuing a legacy of creative and independent expression.
Dee Alexander
One of Chicago’s most celebrated vocalists and songwriters, Dee Alexander’s artistry spans gospel, blues, soul, world music, and especially jazz—the core of her sound. Known for her fearless improvisation and tributes to icons like Nina Simone and Dinah Washington, she has performed at major festivals worldwide, including Newport. Leader of multiple ensembles and host of the syndicated WFMT Jazz Network, Alexander has earned acclaim from DownBeat, the Chicago Tribune, and audiences across the globe.
Renée C. Baker
Composer, conductor, and multidisciplinary artist Renée C. Baker is the founding director of the Chicago Modern Orchestra Project and the Modern Black Music Ensemble. With over 2,000 works spanning orchestral, chamber, and experimental forms, she fuses classical, jazz, film, and visual art into bold, immersive creations that defy boundaries.
JoVia Armstrong
Detroit-born percussionist, composer, and educator JoVia Armstrong fuses rhythm, technology, and global traditions into innovative electroacoustic soundscapes. She has performed with Nicole Mitchell, El DeBarge, and Malian masters Ballaké Sissoko and Babani Koné. Leader of the ensemble Eunoia Society, whose acclaimed albums The Antidote Suite (2022) and Inception (2023) explore music as healing, Armstrong is also an Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Virginia.
Isaiah Spencer
Chicago drummer Isaiah Spencer is known for his fiery, propulsive style that bridges jazz and blues on stages worldwide. A veteran of Montreux, Umbria, Red Sea, and Chicago Jazz Festivals, he has performed with legends including Fred Anderson, Wynton Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, Buddy Guy, and Donald Harrison. Active since the late ’90s, Spencer continues to tour internationally while mentoring young musicians and teaching in Chicago.
Tuesday, September 16, 2025
6:00: Edward WIlkerson &
Extraordinary Popular Delusions
7:00: Roscoe Mitchell
Wednesday September 17, 2025
4:30 AACM@60 Panel Discussion
6:00 Saxophonitis: Ernest Dawkins,
Featuring: Kevin King,
Jacob Slocum, Fred Jackson. W special guest.
7:00 Ben Lamar Gay Quartet
Thursday, September 18, 2025
(indoors - Fieldhouse)
6:00 pm: Ernest Dawkins presents
"Great Black Music - Ancient To The Future"
a
work dedicated to the founders of the
AACM - Muhal Richard Abrams, Jodie Christian,
Phil Cohran, and Steve McCall.
Friday, September 19, 2025
(indoors - Fieldhouse)
6:00 pm:
Renee Baker - Modern Black Ensemble
Renée Baker conducts her composition "Infinite Opus. Score Eternal," featuring Ugochi Nwaogwugwu, Dee Alexander, vocals; Taalib din Ziyad vocals, Flutes; Edwin Daugherty Saxophones; Mwata Bowden,Clarinet and saxophones; Alex Wing, Carlos Pride and Art Burton percussion; Bruce Nelson Vibes; and Carl Siegfried Bass
Saturday, September 20, 2024
(outdoors)
12:00 to 1:00 pm
The Young Masters
Under the direction of Ernest Dawkins
1:10 to 2:10: JoVia Armstrong
2:20 to 3:20: Isaiah Spencer
3:20 to 3:30 Spirit of Jazz Spirit of Jazz Awards
3:35 to 4:45 pm: Adegoke Steve Colson’s
new work “On The Back Porch."
featuring Iqua Colson, vocals; Ernest Dawkins,
Sax; Derrick Gardner, Trumpet; Adegoke Steve Colson, pIano; Isaiah Keith,
vibes; Micah Collier and Darius Savage, bass; and Reggie Nicholson, Drums.
5:00 to 6:00: Alexander McLean Project,
featuring Dee Alexander and John
McLean
Support Englewood Jazz Festival - FREE ADMISSION
Englewood Jazz Festival has the full support of the Englewood community including State Senator Mattie Hunter, State Representative Sonya Harper, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, and the City Arts program of the Department of Cultural Affairs. Our Englewood Jazz Festival is generally generously supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.
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