ernestdawkins.com – composer/musician

Ernest Dawkins is one of the world’s leading saxophonists and composers, known for music that embodies the evolving cultural memory of the African American experience. His recent major works include the CD New Horizons Ensemble Redux: 45 Years of Great Black Music (2026), the composition Great Black Music (2025), dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, the CD Paul Robeson: Man of the People (2024), the composition Tim Black, Blacker Than Black (2022), the composition Refound Connections (2021), and the CD Redefining Frederick Douglass (2020). Dawkins has collaborated internationally, including the MacArthur-funded Englewood to Soweto project in South Africa in 2019, and is the creator of Quantum Englewood, recipient of the 2016 Joyce Award. He serves as Executive Director of Live the Spirit Residency, is a former Chairman of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, performs globally, and hosts a longstanding weekly jam session at Norman’s Bistro in Chicago.

5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Chicago Jazz

Ernest Khabeer Dawkins’ New Horizons Ensemble, ‘Mean Ameen’ | Dee Alexander, vocalist

By Giovanni Russonello
New York Times, March 5, 2025

This recording, featuring some of the stalwarts of Chicago’s improvised music scene, should tantalize the palate of any listener new to creative music. The music is exploratory, while at the same time being funky and accessible. This Ernest Dawkins composition is a homage to Chicago’s own Ameen Muhammad, who died in 2003 at 48. Muhammad, a dear friend of Dawkins, was not only a renowned trumpeter and composer but also a highly admired and respected educator; “Mean Ameen” gained international notoriety over the course of his brief career. Ernest Khabeer Dawkins is one of those rare individuals who manages to balance a passion for community, mentorship and art. For me, this piece represents the saxophonist and bandleader at his best, through a beautiful dedication to a dear friend.

The Music of Ernest Dawkins

Musican, Composer, Educator

“Chicago saxophonist Ernest Dawkins has pursued music professionally for nearly 40 years, and in that time he’s built a legacy that’s among the city’s richest.”