Expanding Horizons

Ernest Dawkins' New Horizons Ensemble features one of Chicago's premier jazz saxophonists and composers.

You can hear echoes of Coltrane and Albert Ayler, invocations of Dizzy and Bird in the frantic rhythmic riff, all of it put together in a way that reflects Louis Armstrong's polyphonic New Orleans funk. The ensemble has performed in a wide variety of venues, and Dawkins has been sharing his musical knowledge with children through the Chicago Public Schools and Urban Gateways.

Growing up in the mix of Chicago's renowned Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, Dawkins shows the same penchant for freewheeling improvisation and mixture of styles. Borrowing from bebop, swing and avant-garde jazz, Dawkins and his New Horizons Ensemble are versatile players with an infectious passion for music.

Related Links

Learn more about the Association for Advancement of Creative Musicians.