Perseverance
A Celebration of
the Tenacity of Black Americans
A Black History Month Jazz and Son Event
Benefit for the Evanston NAACP
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
Donovan Mixon's "Justice ensemble"
For Tickets, Click – HERE
Donovan Mixon
Guitarist Donovan Mixon is a self-described citizen of the world. In 1988, then a Berklee College of Music professor, he secured an NEA grant for jazz composition. His artistic journey led to an 18-year residency in Europe, primarily in Italy and Turkey, where he performed at many of the most significant festivals and taught music concepts. Since 2010, Chicago has been his creative hub where performs in clubs, concert halls and festivals with his World Jazz Quintet as well as with the GBME--Great Black Music Ensemble—of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) of which he is a recent inductee. As a creative outlet during the Pandemic, Mixon organized jazz performances in the alley behind his Evanston home, leading to the series of shows called "Donovan’s Garage" a unique performance laboratory. Donovan's multifaceted career encompasses recordings, a novel, and global collaborations, with a new recording slated for 2024.
Zahra Glenda Baker—Vocalist
Zahra Glenda Baker is a Louisiana born creative who is now a Chicago-based vocalist,
storyteller, and teaching artist, work she has done here for the past 35 years. Zahra has explored
vocal improvisation, overtones, throat singing, yodeling and other mysteries inside the voice to
interpret spirituals and deep trance healing meditations. With a combined curiosity about sound
and a burning desire to place physical, emotional, and spiritual liberation at the center, Zahra
pursues a personal and collective journey toward well-being. She has collaborated with
musicians, dancers, visual artists, poets, storytellers, teachers, and wellness practitioners. She is
a member of AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians).
Leon Q. Allen–Trumpet
Jon Faddis said: “This boy can play!!!” Wynton Marsalis said: “He can swing.” Bone Thugs N
Harmony calls him “Chicago’s Finest.” Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, MC Lyte, and Ice Cube call
this “young lion” of a musician “The Truth.” This whirlwind musical master from The Windy
City has been captivating international audiences for the past 17 years as the most versatile
trumpet player of choice for today’s shining stars. The person that they are referring to is
Chicago’s Leon Q. Allen. As a child, Leon Q. was heavily exposed to a multitudes of music
forms, ranging from jazz, blues, and R&B to Afro-Latin and other international forms. His desire
for musical immersion led him to take up the trumpet as his primary instrument, and to study
music academically. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Jazz studies from Columbia College
Chicago. Entering the professional arena in 1994, at age 14, Leon Q. has played for audiences
around the world. He has shared the stage with musical icons such as Common, Kanye West,
James Brown, Wynton Marsalis, Tito Puente, Jr., and countless others. Leon Q. will move your
heart, mind, body, soul, and spirit through the power of his music.
Dushun Mosley—Percussion
Percussionist Dushun Mosley is a performer, bandleader and father of three. Based in Chicago,
he is the bandleader for the Vizitors and the Signature Group, a member of the Eight Bold Souls,
Frontburners, Chicago 3D, Shadow Vignettes and the AACM Big Band. Dushun has toured
extensively, performing as a soloist, in duets, trios and big bands. He has been called upon to do
numerous engagements in social clubs, music halls and festivals in cities throughout the United
States, Canada, Europe, the Caribbean, Africa and Japan. These performances have contributed
to his distinguished reputation as a leader among the musical innovators of his generation. His
style is Traditional Jazz, Blues and Funk in a combo band setting, but he feels equally at home
pushing big bands and orchestras to their limit. Dushun has performed with top entertainers such
as Sasha Dolton, Roscoe Mitchell, Steve Colson, Douglas Ewart, Henry Threadgill, Jodie
Christian and many others.
Robert Irving III--Keyboard
Keyboardist Robert Irving III is an Interdisciplinary Arts Entrepreneur who has worked with
many of the leading musicians of the past 50 years. In 1978, already proficient in seven
instruments, he returned to his hometown, Chicago, where he reunited with friends who had
formed the supergroup Earth Wind & Fire, connections that led to his lifelong friendship and
work with Ramsey Lewis and a nine-year collaboration as musical director, keyboardist,
producer and arranger for the legendary Miles Davis. He composed film scores for the Alfred
Hitchock Presents film “The Prisoner,” and for “Street Smart,” Morgan Freeman’s first film and
the last for Christopher Reeve. During the 1980s he produced sessions for Carlos Santana, Terri
Lyne, Branford Marsalis, and many more. He was Musical Director for Sister Sledge and for
legendary trumpeter Dr. Donald Byrd. During the 1990s, Robert immersed himself in the
rapidly expanding world of music technology, focusing on the integration of the computer and
Internet into new music technologies. Early in the new century, Robert became a lecturer,
speaker, and special event presenter for the Jazz Institute of Chicago and taught master classes at
colleges and universities throughout the world. In 2017 he was commissioned to create the
orchestral suite “Sketches of Brazil,” in honor of Miles Davis and Gil Evans, leading to Robert’s
founding of the Sonic Portraits Orchestra, which premiered the suite in 2009 before 12,500
people in Chicago’s Millennium Park. In August 2021 he produced and released, Art Of Protest,
a CD project that has remained in the top 20 of the Roots Music Report top 50 Contemporary
Jazz Chart, rising to the top of the chart a record three times. Current work includes documentary
film projects focused on seminal Chicago musicians. He is the recipient of Lifetime
Achievement Awards from the Chicago Music Awards and from the Jazz Institute Chicago.
Irving is currently the Musical Director of the Miles Electric Band featuring Miles Davis alums
working to extend the legacy of Miles Davis.
Darius Savage--Bass
Bassist Darius Savage has been making music since the age of 9, singing, playing guitar, piano
and finally the bass. He has played a wide variety of music, from rock, punk and disco to jazz,
salsa, gospel and world music. Specializing in improvisation on the upright and fretless basses,
he has performed with such luminaries as Von Freeman, Fred Anderson, Ernest Dawkins,
Stanley Turrentine and Nicole Mitchell. He is currently a member of Douglas Ewart’s Invention
and Nyabinghi Drum Choir, Dushun Mosely’s Outlineers, and the AACM Great Black Music
Ensemble.
Guitarist Donovan Mixon is a self-described citizen of the world. In 1988, then a Berklee College of Music professor, he secured an NEA grant for jazz composition. His artistic journey led to an 18-year residency in Europe, primarily in Italy and Turkey, where he performed at many of the most significant festivals and taught music concepts. Since 2010, Chicago has been his creative hub where performs in clubs, concert halls and festivals with his World Jazz Quintet as well as with the GBME--Great Black Music Ensemble—of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) of which he is a recent inductee. As a creative outlet during the Pandemic, Mixon organized jazz performances in the alley behind his Evanston home, leading to the series of shows called "Donovan’s Garage" a unique performance laboratory. Donovan's multifaceted career encompasses recordings, a novel, and global collaborations, with a new recording slated for 2024.
Zahra Glenda Baker—Vocalist
Zahra Glenda Baker is a Louisiana born creative who is now a Chicago-based vocalist,
storyteller, and teaching artist, work she has done here for the past 35 years. Zahra has explored
vocal improvisation, overtones, throat singing, yodeling and other mysteries inside the voice to
interpret spirituals and deep trance healing meditations. With a combined curiosity about sound
and a burning desire to place physical, emotional, and spiritual liberation at the center, Zahra
pursues a personal and collective journey toward well-being. She has collaborated with
musicians, dancers, visual artists, poets, storytellers, teachers, and wellness practitioners. She is
a member of AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians).
Leon Q. Allen–Trumpet
Jon Faddis said: “This boy can play!!!” Wynton Marsalis said: “He can swing.” Bone Thugs N
Harmony calls him “Chicago’s Finest.” Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, MC Lyte, and Ice Cube call
this “young lion” of a musician “The Truth.” This whirlwind musical master from The Windy
City has been captivating international audiences for the past 17 years as the most versatile
trumpet player of choice for today’s shining stars. The person that they are referring to is
Chicago’s Leon Q. Allen. As a child, Leon Q. was heavily exposed to a multitudes of music
forms, ranging from jazz, blues, and R&B to Afro-Latin and other international forms. His desire
for musical immersion led him to take up the trumpet as his primary instrument, and to study
music academically. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Jazz studies from Columbia College
Chicago. Entering the professional arena in 1994, at age 14, Leon Q. has played for audiences
around the world. He has shared the stage with musical icons such as Common, Kanye West,
James Brown, Wynton Marsalis, Tito Puente, Jr., and countless others. Leon Q. will move your
heart, mind, body, soul, and spirit through the power of his music.
Dushun Mosley—Percussion
Percussionist Dushun Mosley is a performer, bandleader and father of three. Based in Chicago,
he is the bandleader for the Vizitors and the Signature Group, a member of the Eight Bold Souls,
Frontburners, Chicago 3D, Shadow Vignettes and the AACM Big Band. Dushun has toured
extensively, performing as a soloist, in duets, trios and big bands. He has been called upon to do
numerous engagements in social clubs, music halls and festivals in cities throughout the United
States, Canada, Europe, the Caribbean, Africa and Japan. These performances have contributed
to his distinguished reputation as a leader among the musical innovators of his generation. His
style is Traditional Jazz, Blues and Funk in a combo band setting, but he feels equally at home
pushing big bands and orchestras to their limit. Dushun has performed with top entertainers such
as Sasha Dolton, Roscoe Mitchell, Steve Colson, Douglas Ewart, Henry Threadgill, Jodie
Christian and many others.
Robert Irving III--Keyboard
Keyboardist Robert Irving III is an Interdisciplinary Arts Entrepreneur who has worked with
many of the leading musicians of the past 50 years. In 1978, already proficient in seven
instruments, he returned to his hometown, Chicago, where he reunited with friends who had
formed the supergroup Earth Wind & Fire, connections that led to his lifelong friendship and
work with Ramsey Lewis and a nine-year collaboration as musical director, keyboardist,
producer and arranger for the legendary Miles Davis. He composed film scores for the Alfred
Hitchock Presents film “The Prisoner,” and for “Street Smart,” Morgan Freeman’s first film and
the last for Christopher Reeve. During the 1980s he produced sessions for Carlos Santana, Terri
Lyne, Branford Marsalis, and many more. He was Musical Director for Sister Sledge and for
legendary trumpeter Dr. Donald Byrd. During the 1990s, Robert immersed himself in the
rapidly expanding world of music technology, focusing on the integration of the computer and
Internet into new music technologies. Early in the new century, Robert became a lecturer,
speaker, and special event presenter for the Jazz Institute of Chicago and taught master classes at
colleges and universities throughout the world. In 2017 he was commissioned to create the
orchestral suite “Sketches of Brazil,” in honor of Miles Davis and Gil Evans, leading to Robert’s
founding of the Sonic Portraits Orchestra, which premiered the suite in 2009 before 12,500
people in Chicago’s Millennium Park. In August 2021 he produced and released, Art Of Protest,
a CD project that has remained in the top 20 of the Roots Music Report top 50 Contemporary
Jazz Chart, rising to the top of the chart a record three times. Current work includes documentary
film projects focused on seminal Chicago musicians. He is the recipient of Lifetime
Achievement Awards from the Chicago Music Awards and from the Jazz Institute Chicago.
Irving is currently the Musical Director of the Miles Electric Band featuring Miles Davis alums
working to extend the legacy of Miles Davis.
Darius Savage--Bass
Bassist Darius Savage has been making music since the age of 9, singing, playing guitar, piano
and finally the bass. He has played a wide variety of music, from rock, punk and disco to jazz,
salsa, gospel and world music. Specializing in improvisation on the upright and fretless basses,
he has performed with such luminaries as Von Freeman, Fred Anderson, Ernest Dawkins,
Stanley Turrentine and Nicole Mitchell. He is currently a member of Douglas Ewart’s Invention
and Nyabinghi Drum Choir, Dushun Mosely’s Outlineers, and the AACM Great Black Music
Ensemble.