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Dee Alexander

Vocals and Percussion

Dee Alexander is one of Chicago’s most gifted and respected female vocalist/ songwriters. Her talents span every music genre, from Gospel to R&B, from Blues to Neo-Soul. Yet her true heart and soul are experienced in their purest form through her performance of Jazz music. From a soft, sultry traditional ballad, to a contemporary Jazz-Funk groove, from a high flying swing, to a scat-filled romp, Dee Alexander delivers each style with a passion and love of music that comes across in each and every note, and in a style that is truly her own.


Besides being a phenomenal headliner in her own right, Dee has performed as the opening act for many of her musical peers such as David Sanborn, Earl Klugh, Gerald Albright, Roy Ayers, Joshua Redman, and the O’Jays. And not being one to ever feel that the spotlight has to belong exclusively to her all the time, Ms. Alexander has lent her considerable talents as a backup vocalist to the live performances of an array of other well known artists. These include Smooth Jazz bassist Michael Manson, and vocalists Michael Bolton, Phil Perry, Willie Clayton, and Zora Young.


Internationally, Ms. Alexander has performed at Banlieues Bleues Festival 2004 in Paris, France with Douglas Ewart and Trio Inventions. She has toured extensively in Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg and France with Sue Conway and the Victory Singers, and in Singapore and Holland with the Art Porter Quartet at the North Sea Jazz Festival.


Showing a limitless versatility, Ms. Alexander has also graced the theatrical stage as an actress. Many of her performances have been with ETA Performance Arts Theatre in Chicago, where she has appeared in such productions as “Passenger Past Midnight”, “When the Wind Blows”, and “Hillary Clay”, just to name a few. She has also performed with Cosmic Night and Muntu Dance Company’s “African Swing” and “46664” stage productions. Dee has even graced the radio and television airwaves with vocal performances on various commercial spots, including clients such as McDonalds, Pert Plus, the Illinois State Lottery, Diet 7Up, Pillsbury, Buick LeSabre, Commonwealth Edison, Dove, and Amoco. Ms. Alexander’s television performances include WBBM Channel 2 2005 Portraits in Color; WTTW’s Channel 11 Going Home Gospel with Sue Conway and the Victory Singers featuring Patti LaBelle and WTTW’s Arts Across Illinois 2001 with Malachi Thompson’s Freebop Band and Bernie Mac’s HBO (Midnight Mac) Special.


Dee’s partial discography includes featured vocals on Orbert Davis’ “Blue Notes”, Dennis Winslett’s “Soul Journey”, Corky McClerkin’s “Island of Dreams”; R. Kelly’s “Tp-2.com”and “U Saved Me/Happy People”; Brian Culbertson’s “Secrets”; Malachi Thompson’s “47TH Street, “Rising Daystar” and “Blue Jazz”; Lines and Spaces’ “Shades of Brown”, as well as her own project “Dee Alexander Live at the Hothouse”. Dee’s performance on the title track to “ 47th Street” was also released on the 2 CD set “Delmark Records, 45 Years of Jazz and Blues” featuring some of the best recordings from the company's rich jazz history. Dee Alexander is a member of the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians).

Tags: Jazz, Percussion, Vocals

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