Concerts & Events

Jeremy Dutcher

Performer, composer, activist, musicologist — these roles are all infused into his art and way of life. His music, too, transcends boundaries: unapologetically playful in its incorporation of classical influences, full of reverence for the traditional songs of his home, and teeming with the urgency of modern-day struggles of resistance.

A member of Tobique First Nation in New Brunswick, Jeremy first did music studies in Halifax before taking a chance to work in the archives at the Canadian Museum of History, painstakingly transcribing Wolastoq songs from 1907 wax cylinders. "Many of the songs I'd never heard before, because our musical tradition on the East Coast was suppressed by the Canadian Government's Indian Act." Jeremy heard ancestral voices singing forgotten songs and stories that had been taken from the Wolastoqiyik generations ago.

As he listened to each recording, he felt his own musical impulses stirring from deep within. Long days at the archives turned into long nights at the piano, feeling out melodies and phrases, deep in dialogue with the voices of his ancestors. These "collaborative" compositions, collected together on his debut LP Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa (awarded the 2018 Polaris Music Prize), are like nothing you've ever heard. Delicate, sublime vocal melodies ring out atop piano lines that cascade through a vibrant range of emotions. The anguish and joy of the past erupt fervently into the present through Jeremy's bold approach to composition and raw, affective performances enhanced by his outstanding tenor techniques.

"I'm doing this work because there's only about a hundred Wolastoqey speakers left," he says. "It's crucial for us to make sure that we're using our language and passing it on to the next generation. If you lose the language, you're not just losing words you're losing an entire way of seeing and experiencing the world from a distinctly indigenous perspective."

https://jeremydutcher.com/

The Englewood/Soweto Exchange

Comprised of band members from both the Southside of Chicago, United States and Soweto/Durban communities of South Africa, The Englewood/Soweto Exchange, represents a unique ensemble of emerging artists exploring the hybridization of Hip Hop and Jazz music influenced by neighborhood, tradition, and the contemporary cultural vibrancy of living in their cities. Portions of the music also include distinct elements of South African styles like: Kwaito, Kasi Rap, Mbhaqauga, Marabi, uMbaqanga, Maskandi, and Nuguni, along with native languages and sounds from Xhosa and Zulu.

Under the artistic guise of respected Chicago and world renowned saxophonist Ernest Dawkins, in partnership with the Old Town School of Folk Music and the University of Witswatersrand in Johannesburg, the Englewood/Soweto Exchange features mostly original music composed by its South African and American band members that features Memphis as emcee, Keorapetse Kolwane on vocals, Chantal Willie Peterson on double bass and vocals, Artemis as emcee, Alexis Lombre on keys, Brother El on electronics, and Jeremiah Collier on drums. This exciting collaboration combines flavors from home and overseas developing a definitive stew that represents the best of both worlds and the promise of undeniable talent.

Special thanks to the MacArthur Foundation for support of this project and program.