Millennial Era Jazz: Pianist Alexis Lombre hopes to return the jazz club to a dance hall
By Thaddeus Tukes After first-year adjustments, most college sophomores are ready to immerse themselves. 20-year-old pianist Alexis Lombre has been doing just that. A Chicago native and full-time music student at the University of Michigan, Lombre says her first year left her feeling isolated and targeted, due to racist, sexist, and heteropatriarchal statements that were […]
Power to the People: How prison abolitionist Ric Wilson shares his work through music
By Thaddeus Tukes Good luck trying to catch artivist Ric Wilson. Traversing the city of Chicago with wide eyes and a feather earring, his flutters have already been making waves throughout the Chicago area. A native of Alsip, a suburb southwest of the city, his soul has “bounced” from the North Coast Music Festival in […]
5 steps to branding Indie artists
By Thaddeus Tukes Since I started playing music professionally as a teenager, I’ve run into countless people whose shining star fizzled out — and most of them believe it was too early. Many initially took the independent artist route, but said they lacked the resources to make it work. They couldn’t attract consistent visibility or […]
Millennial Era Jazz: Marquis Hill
By Thaddeus Tukes [A version of the story was co-published on Blavity.] Jazz is the essence of black culture, yet for years, black musicians have felt it being taken away by the rapaciousness of commerce and profit. The newest emerging voice in reclaiming jazz hails from the South Side of Chicago, which gave birth and […]
Power To The People: Tasha Viets-VanLear
By Thaddeus Tukes [A version of this story, A profile in power: Activist Tasha Viets-VanLear fights for black freedom in Chicago was co-published in The Grio and on SJNN (Social Justice News Nexus)] An aura of serenity and peace permeates the room when Tasha Viets-VanLear enters. Clad in all black with a gray scarf, she sips […]
