Soul Searchin' with Jamila Woods

Replenish your soul with Chicago-born multi-talented artist Jamila Woods as you explore a night filled with songs that push the boundaries of reflection, rhythmic connection, and cultural homage.

PROGRAM

Opening Act: Dalaun
Headliner: Jamila Woods

Jamila Woods, a Chicago-born poet, organizer, and consistent glory merchant, seeks to honor black people first, always. And so her latest album, Legacy! Legacy! A song for Zora! Zora, who gave so much to a culture before she died alone and longing. A song for Octavia and her huge and savage conscience! A song for Miles! One for Jean-Michel and one for my man Jimmy Baldwin!

More than just giving the song titles the names of historical black and brown icons of literature, art, and music, Woods builds a sonic and lyrical monument to the various modes of how these icons tried to push beyond the margins a country had assigned to them. On “Sun Ra,” Woods sings, “I just gotta get away from this earth, man / this marble was doomed from the start” and that type of dreaming and vision honors not only the legacy of Sun Ra, but the idea that there is a better future, and in it, there will still be black people.

Jamila Woods has a voice and lyrical sensibility that transcends generations, and so it makes sense to have this lush and layered album that bounces seamlessly from one sonic aesthetic to another.

From the airy boom-bap of “Giovanni” to the psychedelic flourishes of “Sonia,” the instrument which ties the musical threads together is the ability of Woods to find her pockets in the waves of instrumentation, stretching syllables and vowels over the harmony of noise until each puzzle piece has a home. The whimsical and malleable nature of sonic delights also grants a path for collaborators to flourish: the sparkling flows of Nitty Scott on “Sonia” and Saba on “Basquiat,” or the bloom of Nico Segal’s horns on “Baldwin.”

Dalaun is an R&B/Soul musician who was introduced to music by her father and grandmother. She began piano lessons at the age of five and had her first opportunity to sing in her church at the age of six. She is a 2017 graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music, where she earned her Bachelor's Degree in Music Business/Management. She has been blessed with many opportunities, including a cameo role in Daddy's Home 2, appearances on NBC's The Sing-Off and America's Got Talent, and background gigs for artists such as CAKE and Pentatonix, along with many others. She is extremely excited to be creating content of her own, working on her individual artistry, and can't wait to share her life, experiences, and original music with you.

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