September 30, 2018, 6pm: Dee Alexander presents the Music of Terry Callier at the Hyde Park Jazz Festival
DEE ALEXANDER PRESENTS: WHAT COLOR IS LOVE? THE MUSIC OF TERRY CALLIER
September 30, 2018 | 6:00pm
Dee Alexander’s Evolution Ensemble
Hyde Park Jazz Festival | Wagner Stage
Midway Plaisance at Woodlawn Ave | Chicago, IL
While in high school, vocalist/songwriter DEE ALEXANDER was exposed to the beauty and complexity of musician and composer TERRY CALLIER. She grew deeper in love with his music and sound while performing African Violet with Regina Brown in Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago’s production of Egyptian Suite.
Alexander’s reinterpretation of that piece at Hyde Park Jazz Festival will breathe different colors and textures into an already beautiful tapestry, while also introducing new listeners to the genius of Terry Callier who, like so many other Chicago musicians, is loved and revered in Europe but unsung at home. Alexander would like to change that.
TERRY CALLIER was born on the North Side and raised in the Cabrini–Green Homes, where he studied piano. He was childhood friends with Curtis Mayfield, Major Lance, and Jerry Butler, and began singing in doo-wop groups in his teens. In 1962, he auditioned at Chess Records, where he recorded his debut single, Look at Me Now. While attending college, he performed in folk clubs and coffee houses in Chicago, becoming strongly influenced by the music of John Coltrane. He met Samuel Charters of Prestige Records in 1964 and the following year, they recorded his debut album.
Callier continued to perform and tour until 1983, when he gained custody of his daughter, retired from music, and began taking classes in computer programming. He worked at the University of Chicago and pursued a degree in sociology in the evenings. During the Acid Jazz movement of the 1990s, there was a resurgence of interest in his music when British DJs began playing his recordings in clubs.
A sample of his music on British hip-hop band Urban Species’ debut album sparked a collaboration with the group on their 1997 EP Religion and Politics and Terry Callier was back to recording music. He contributed to Beth Orton’s Best Bit EP in 1997 before releasing his own album Timepeace in 1998, which won the United Nations’ Time For Peace award for outstanding artistic achievement contributing to world peace.
After Timepiece, Terry Callier continued recording and authored several additional releases. In 2012, he died from cancer at the age of 67. His legacy lives on, and the Evolution Ensemble will continue to spread the word and music of Terry Callier.
The Evolution Ensemble consists of: ERNIE ADAMS (drums); SCOTT HESSE (guitar); JUNIUS PAUL (bass); TOMEKA REID (cello).