Artist:Dee Alexander
Song:C U On the Other Side (Ode to "Light" Henry Huff)
Album:Wild Is the Wind
Jazz singer Dee Alexander is a member of the Chicago collective The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). So that means her music is on the adventurous side of the jazz spectrum. She has recorded a few albums but these days she is a radio show host. She grew up on the south side of Chicago listening to her parents record collection of Dinah Washington and Ella Fitzgerald. But her biggest influence is saxophonist Henry Huff. He was a long time member of AACM until his 1993 death. He encouraged Dee to cross boundaries in jazz. After she created a tribute to Nina Simone at the Jazz Institute of Chicago, this led to participation in AACM projects with guys like Malachi Thompson. She eventually started her own band. And after self releasing an album, she signed with blujazz for the 2009 album Wild Is the Wind. Dee wrote C U On the Other Side as a tribute to her mentor Henry Huff. The album was produced by jazz violinist Diane Delin. The musicians are Mike Logan from Ramsey Lewis' band on piano, Harrison Bankhead on bass and Leon Joyce on drums. This album is available as a budget CD. Dee last recorded as a leader in 2014. But she has recorded with The Metropolitan Jazz Octet and most recently with Chicago Soul Jazz Collective. She hosts Sunday Jazz with Dee Alexander on Chicago radio station WDCB. Here's Dee Alexander with James Sanders on violin, Tomeka Reid on cello, Janius Paul on bass and Ernie Adams on drums performing C U On the Other Side at the Bridgestone Music Festival at Citibank Hall in Sao Paulo, Brazil May 20, 2010.
No comments:
Post a Comment