Ernest Dawkins

As the leader of New Horizons Ensemble, Ernest Dawkins has performed music ranging from free bop to free form, occasionally displaying its links to the past while definitely looking ahead. Dawkins remembered hearing Anthony Braxton (a neighbor) practice as a youth. He originally played bass and then drums before settling on the saxophone in 1973. He attended the AACM school and studied music at the Vandercook College of Music and with the AACM "elders" (including Joseph Jarman and Chico Freeman). After playing with local ensembles (including the AACM Big Band, Ed Wilkerson's S...