Ernest Dawkins

Because the leader of New Horizons Outfit, Ernest Dawkins has performed music which range from free bop to free form, occasionally displaying its links to days gone by while definitely searching ahead. Dawkins kept in mind hearing Anthony Braxton (a neighbor) practice like a youngsters. He originally performed bass and drums before buying the saxophone in 1973. He went to the AACM college and analyzed music in the Vandercook University of Music and with the AACM “elders” (including Joseph Jarman and Chico Freeman). After using regional ensembles (like the AACM Big Music group, Ed Wilkerson’s Darkness Vignettes big music group, and Douglas Ewart’s Clarinet Choir), in 1979 Dawkins created New Horizons Outfit which ultimately grew right into a pianoless sextet. His exciting group (consisting in 1994 of Dawkins, trombonist Steve Berry, trumpeter Ameen Muhammad, guitarist Jeffery Parker, bassist Yosef Ben Israel, and drummer Reggie Nicholson) offers performed frequently in Chicago, at celebrations, and in European countries, furthermore to producing three recordings for the Silkheart label.