Dartmouth Events

Presented by the music department Music Now! concert series

UK-based pianist Alexander Hawkins is a remarkable musician who is deeply engaged in multiple streams of contemporary jazz and creative music, working with legends such as Britain's Evan Parker, South Africa’s Louis Moholo, Ethiopia’s Mulatu Astatke, and current stars like Shabaka Hutchings and Esperanza Spalding. During his week-long residency with the Coast Jazz Orchestra, Hawkins presents a recital of solo music sponsored by the Department of Music. Hawkins will be joined by Coast director Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet) and Daniel Lin ’23 (cello) to premiere a work by Lin that explores the lineage of Charles Mingus and Eric Dolphy to Abdul Wadud and James Newton.

Alexander Hawkins is a composer, pianist, and organist who is "unlike anything else in modern creative music." Regarded as one of his generation’s most innovative thinkers, his music has been described by The Guardian as sounding "like all the future jazz you might imagine without ever being able to conceive of the details." Among his many activities (which range from solo concerts to larger-scale commissions), he is a committed performer in the duo format, in which he has appeared live and on record with Sofia Jernberg, Nicole Mitchell, Evan Parker, Tomeka Reid, Hamid Drake, Esperanza Spalding, Angelica Niescier, John Surman, Wadada Leo Smith, and Han Bennink, among many others. Other collaborations have included with the likes of Marshall Allen, Anthony Braxton, Shabaka Hutchings, Joe McPhee, and Jonny Greenwood. For well over a decade, he has also been noted for his performances in the bands of legendary South African drummer Louis Moholo-Moholo, and Ethio-jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke. He has been widely commissioned by the likes of the BBC, events such as the London and Berlin Jazz Festivals, venues such as the Pierre Boulez Saal, and contemporary music groups such as the Riot Ensemble. He was named instrumentalist of the year in the 2016 Parliamentary Jazz Awards. In 2018, he was elected a fellow of the Civitella Ranieri. www.alexanderhawkinsmusic.com

Photo: Montreux Jazz Festival Academy / Anoush Abrar