Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre to Present EXCEPTIONAL BLACK MUSES: A MUSICAL JOURNEY With an All-Black-Women String Quintet

Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre and the Jazz Institute of Chicago will present a two-night concert on August 20 and 21 that will celebrate the amazing artistic accomplishments and contributions of Black female musicians, composers, and bandleaders from the early 20th century to present day. An all-Black women string quintet, led by celebrated musicians Jordyn Davis and Natalie Frakes, along with spoken word artist Darlin' Mikki and other guest musical artists, will make this a memorable experience for the entire family. Performances will be Saturday, August 20 at 7:00 pm and Sunday, August 21 at 3:00 pm; at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes St., Evanston. A wine and hors d`oeuvres after party with the musicians (included with ticket purchase) will follow the Sunday, August 21 performance.

Some of the Black artists to be saluted are Mary Lou Williams, Lillian "Lil" Hardin Armstrong, Alice Coltrane, and Geri Allen. Mary Lou Williams was a jazz pianist, arranger, and composer who wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements and recorded more than one hundred records between 1920 and her death in 1981. She wrote and arranged for Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman, and was a friend, mentor, and teacher to Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Tadd Dameron, Bud Powell, and Dizzy Gillespie. Lillian "Lil" Hardin Armstrong was a jazz pianist, composer, arranger, singer, and bandleader. She was the second wife of Louis Armstrong, with whom she collaborated on many recordings in the 1920s and was an important influence on his career. Alice Coltrane was a jazz composer and pianist and one of the few harpists in the history of jazz. She recorded many albums as a bandleader and was married to jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane. One of the foremost exponents of spiritual jazz, her eclectic music proved widely influential both within and outside the world of jazz. Geri Allen was an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator who was also an associate professor of music at the University of Pittsburgh and the director of its Jazz Studies program.

The compositions and arrangements of these influential musicians will be performed by an all-Black-female string quintet led by award-winning bassist, composer, songwriter, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist Jordyn Davis, who has performed with artists such as Micheal Dease, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and Dee Dee Bridgewater; and jazz violinist Natalie Frakes, who has performed with such leading musicians as Josh Groban, Michael Bublé, Aretha Franklin Orchestra, Ariana Grande, and Stevie Wonder. The quintet will be joined by Chicago spoken word artist Darlin Mikki, who will perform spoken word pieces she has authored to take us on this musical journey.

Joining Davis and Frakes in the string quintet are cellist Kailie Holliday, violinist Caitlin Edwards, and violist Michelle Manson. Also performing are pianist Anaiet Soul, trumpeter Devine Wade, and vocalists Quiana McNary-Licorish and Sean Blake.

Tickets for EXCEPTIONAL BLACK MUSES are $35.00 for the Saturday performance and $40 for the Sunday performance. Tickets are on sale now at www.fjtheatre.com.

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