Black History Concert Series: Voices of Àṣẹ (Day Two)

guest artist

Chicago State University Community Jazz Band

Chicago State University Community Jazz Band was started in 1992 by Professor Roxanne Stevenson as an answer to the need for music reading sessions for local musicians. The Community Concert and Jazz Bands began with five musicians playing their major instruments for one ensemble and their secondary instruments for the other. The two ensembles have had over 400 members of all ages and have performed hundreds of selections from standard and contemporary repertoire. The Jazz band performed at the historic Milt Trenier’s nightclub, CSU Jazz Night Café, Jazz in the Grass, Jazz on the Hill, Orchestra Hall, graduations, galas and basketball games. The band has presented clinics and performances at the Illinois Music Education Association All-State Conference, Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, Jazz Education Network Conference, Hyde Park Jazz Festival, Hyde Park Courtyard Festival, Woodson Library Reopening, Macy’s Black History Month Celebration, NAMN Centennial Conference and many band festivals. The ensemble celebrates 33 years of service to the 158-year-old CSU community.

guest artists

The Era Footwork Collective

The Era Footwork Collective is multidisciplinary arts collective and culture bearers of the music genre and dance form Chicago Footwork. Since 2014, The Era has grown from battle dancers to visionary creators whose work fuses dance, music, film, fashion, performance, education, and community engagement with a mission rooted in the conviction that “Footwork Saves Lives.”

They have toured and performed in Japan, Peru, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Kuwait, showcasing Footwork as both cultural expression and artistic innovation.The Era’s stage show IN THE WURKZ — an evening-length multimedia performance weaving choreography, spoken word, film, and original music — premiered at Links Hall in and performed at Theaster Gate’s Arts bank in Chicago and went on to tour nationally at places like The Yard in Martha's Vineyard, the PVDFest in Providence Rhode Island, and The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis supported by New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) National Dance Project award. They are part of the Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project, a multi-year initiative celebrating and strengthening the historic impact of Black dance, including performances at iconic venues like the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park.

The Era has appeared in an Adidas Originals campaign, highlighted in Spotify’s RapCaviar editorial playlists, performed at Lollapalooza, Red Bull curated events and collaborated with major fashion brands including Burberry.

The Era  continues to expand the teachings of the culture through teaching workshops and speaking at places like Yale, Harvard, the University of Chicago and Columbia College.