Please join Fostina Dixon & Winds of Change for an afternoon of jazz and original compositions. 

Fostina Dixon is a composer, vocalist and jazz soloist who plays soprano, alto and baritone saxes; flute; and clarinet.  Ms. Dixon has been guest soloist with Abbey Lincoln, Barry Harris, Earl May and the Big Apple Jazzwomen.  She has also played with Gil Evans, Roy Ayers, Tom Browne, Charlie Persip, Melba Liston, Cab Calloway, Slide Hampton, Frank Foster, Joe Williams, Nancy Wilson, Bobby Vinton, Sammy Davis, Jr., Prince, and Marvin Gaye, with whom she toured for four years.  She was a member of the Gerald Wilson, Jimmy Cleveland and Leslie Drayton big bands.

Fostina Dixon is a native of Wilmington, Delaware where she studied with the late Robert “Boysie” Lowery.  As a young woodwind instrumentalist she played for the Delaware All-State Band and was selected for the American Young Symphonic Orchestra which toured Europe.  She went on to study with such great musicians as Frank Foster, Buddy Collette, Vic Morosco, Joe Viola, Andy McGhee and William Bowie. As a professional musician, she has performed at numerous clubs, colleges, libraries, churches, community art centers, New York’s Jazzmobile concert series, theaters and toured Germany, Austria, Italy, Belgium, France and the Netherlands several times. 

Fostina Dixon founded the Wilmington Youth Jazz Band in 2004 (www.wyjb.org), a non-profit organization for youths. She has earned numerous rewards and recognition including Recipient of Delaware Division of the Arts for Established Jazz Performance; Recipient of the South Arts Road Jazz Tour and the Delaware Division of the Arts Recipient for Established Professional Jazz Composition. 

Percussionist Kevin James has been playing drums since the age of 6 and has had a passion for music ever since. The grandson of Ira Tucker, Sr., legendary lead singer/producer of the world renowned gospel music group The Dixie Hummingbirds, Kevin was introduced to the music business first hand in the studio and then on the road by his grandfather. Kevin recorded several albums with the Dixie Hummingbirds, several of which were nominated for Grammy Awards in the 1990’s. He also hit the road with the group performing across the globe and at the Marciac Jazz Festival in France. Kevin has recorded with and/or performed with and shared the same stage with various music artists such as Gerald Veasley, Jamaaledeen Tacuma, Cedric Napoleon, Shirley Scott, Karen Briggs, Norman Connors, Kim Waters, Jean Carne, Russell Thompkins (Stylistics), Sister Sledge, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, and more. Kevin is presently in-house studio drummer for CQT Music Productions recording at Studio 4 Recording (Phila.) and is a BMI-affiliated songwriter/composer, a former voting member of the Recording Academy (NARAS) Philadelphia and Atlanta chapters and is a member of the Production Music Association (PMA) of Los Angeles.

Dennis Fortune, on keyboard, is an adjunct professor of music at Drexel University and has been teaching and performing in the Philadelphia area for over 35 years. He holds a B.A. degree in music and sociology from Dickinson College and is currently the musical director for the groups FVC and The Jenkins Project. He has traveled extensively throughout the U.S. and the world performing with such artists as Esther Satterfield, Jean Carne, Donald Byrd, Billy Paul, Norman Connors, and numerous others. He is the recipient of the Delaware Division of the Arts Fellowship for jazz composition, has released five CDs and produced projects for many other artists. He composed the music for the WHYY television special “Four Presidents the Great American Clean Up” and the Delaware production of “The Four Poster” starring Jasmine Guy and Keith David. Christina Cultural Arts Center awards an annual scholarship “The Dennis Fortune Scholarship for Musical Excellence” to a deserving student studying jazz piano.                   

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Michael aka Cruse is an accomplished bassist with over four decades of experience. Cruse enjoys many genres of music but loves playing jazz. He began his bass studies at the Settlement School of Music and then crafted his skills by shedding and performing with musicians in the Philadelphia area. He has toured with Billy Paul, Norman Connors, Rachelle Farrell and many other recording artists. In 2001, he helped form the musical group Fortune Vinson Cruse. The group Fortune Vinson Cruse recorded five CDs and has performed at many concerts as opening acts, and headliners in the tri state area and New York. In 2007, the Settlement Music School recognized Cruse as a distinguished alumnus and a member of the “Settlement 100”. Currently, Cruse is a member of the Jenkins Project, a group of talented musicians and vocalists that cover several genres. He continues to perform with Fortune Vinson Cruse.

This program is supported, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The Division promotes Delaware arts events at www.DelawareScene.com.