Beloved Chicago vocalist Dee Alexander has won over audiences in both her hometown and around the world by combining a golden voice with technical acuity, and a musical range that moves from stunning interpretations of standards to spellbinding original compositions. For this evening with CHF, Alexander brings her magic to the Great American Songbook, celebrating the complex lyrics and enchanting melodies of some of our favorite shared songs. Join Alexander and her band for a musical adventure.

This program is generously underwritten by the Helen B. and Ira E. Graham Family.

Presenters:

Born on Chicago’s west side, Dee Alexander is one of Chicago’s most gifted and respected female vocalist/songwriters. Her talents span every music genre, yet her true heart and soul are experienced in her performance of Jazz music. Ms. Alexander has received numerous awards including the Chicagoan of the Year in Jazz award in 2008 and the 3Arts Award for Music in 2012. She also leads her own Dee Alexander Quartet and the Evolution Ensemble.

Questlove—the Grammy Award-winning cofounder of The Roots and musical director for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon—is a creative powerhouse: musician, bandleader, designer, culinary entrepreneur, professor, and all-around cultural omnivore and tastemaker. Now he comes to CHF with a new mission: Creative Quest, an impassioned guide to living your best creative life, from finding a mentor to maintaining a creative network to coping with critics. In a candid and wide-ranging conversation with Ben Greenman (co-author, Mo' Meta Blues), Questlove will share his wisdom on inspiration and originality, and some of his own experiences, including life lessons from musical forefathers (George Clinton), collaborators (D’Angelo), and like-minded artists (Ava DuVernay and Björk).

Ticket purchase includes a copy of Creative Quest. An option for 1 book + 2 tickets is available through the box office at (312) 605-8444.

This event will feature open captions to increase access to program content.

This program recognizes Ariel Investments, recipient of CHF's 2016 Civic Leadership Award.

Presenters:

Questlove is a drummer, DJ, producer, culinary entrepreneur, designer, New York Times bestselling and James Beard Award–nominated author, and cofounder of the Roots. He is the musical director for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where the Roots serve as the house band, and a four-time Grammy Award–winning musician. He is the author of New York Times bestseller Mo’ Meta Blues, Soul Train: The Music, Dance and Style of a Generation, and Creative Quest. He is also an adjunct professor at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

Ben Greenman is a New York Times-bestselling author and former New Yorker editor who has written more than fifteen books of fiction and nonfiction, including the novel The Slippage, the short-story collection What He's Poised To Do , and collaborations with George Clinton and Brian Wilson. His most recent books are a book-length study of Prince, Dig If You Will The Picture, and Don Quixotic, a collection of microfictions about the 45th president of the United States.

Poet, writer, and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib uses his distinctly ruminative voice and deep investment in popular culture and music to dissect the everyday threats to the lives of black Americans. In They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us, inspired by the music of Ice Cube, Abdurraqib ranges over a cross-section of experiences, from attending a Bruce Springsteen concert the day after visiting Michael Brown’s grave in Ferguson to the first time he was ordered to the ground by police officers—for attempting to enter his own car. Chicago poet and author of Wild Hundreds, Nate Marshall joins Abdurraqib for what's sure to be an dynamic if sobering conversation.

Preorder your copy of They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us from the CHF box office and save 20%.

A book signing will follow this program.

Poems While You Wait is a group of Chicago poets who periodically set up shop to produce poems on the spot (see what we did there?) at events taking place around the city. We're thrilled to welcome them and their clackety typewriters to CHF's spring festival. Look for their table setup in the CAA lobby in between your programs and get a personalized poem to take home!

Presenters:

Hanif Abdurraqib is a poet, essayist, and cultural critic from Columbus, Ohio. His first collection of poems, The Crown Ain’t Worth Much was nominated for the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award and was a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Book prize. His first collection of essays, They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us was named a book of the year by Esquire, NPR, Oprah Magazine, The Los Angeles Review, The Chicago Tribune, among others. His next books are Go Ahead in the Rain and They Don’t Dance No’ Mo’.

Nate Marshall is from the South Side of Chicago. He is an editor of The BreakBeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop and the Director of National Programs for Louder Than A Bomb Youth Poetry Festival. His book Wild Hundreds has won the Black Caucus of the American Library Association’s award for Poetry Book of the Year and The Great Lakes College Association’s New Writer Award, among others. His last rap album, Grown, came out in 2015 with his group Daily Lyrical Product.