Ernest Dawkins

Ernest " Khabeer " Dawkins ( born November 2, 1953) is an American jazz alto and tenor saxophonist. He directs the New Horizon Ensemble.

Life and work

Ernest Dawkins was in his childhood neighbor of Anthony Braxton. He first played bass and drums before switching to the saxophone in 1973. During this time he studied with members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians such as Joseph Jarman and Chico Freeman, also at Vander Cook College of Music. He then worked with Edward Wilkerson and Douglas Ewart, before he and his New Horizons Ensemble occurred in Chicago and recorded several albums for Silkheart Records. He also played at jazz festivals and went on tours in Europe.

In addition, Hawkins played in 1985 in the formation Shadow Vignettes ( Birth of a Notion ) with Reggie Nicholson and Kahil El'Zabar, participated in El'Zabars CIMP album Papa's Bounce ( 1998), and played in 1997 with El'Zabar, Joseph Bowie and Harold Murray in the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble ( the Continuum ).

According to Richard Cook and Brian Morton in particular the first album of the New Horizons Ensemble is heavily influenced by the Art Ensemble of Chicago; only the album Chicago Now ( the first one that was created for an American label) is dominated by the Chicago sound in conjunction with the AACM; more musical references is the music of Abdullah Ibrahim, John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, Monk, and Charles Mingus.

Disco Graphical Notes

• South Side Street Songs ( Silkheart Records, 1994)
• Chicago Now, Vol 1 ( Silkheart, 1994)
• Chicago Now, Vol 2 ( Silkheart, 1994)
• Jo'Burg Jump ( Delmark Records, 2000) with Muhammad Ameen
• Mean Ameen ( Delmark, 2004)
• The Prairie Project ( 2011)