Tuesdays on the Terrace | Alexis Lombre

About the Event

Summer Tuesdays come alive on the MCA terrace with free concerts highlighting artists from Chicago’s internationally renowned music community. Enjoy live music while relaxing on the lawn with your own picnic, or savor snacks and drinks available for purchase. Then head inside to catch the MCA’s summer exhibitions—we’re open late on Tuesdays and free for Illinois residents.

Chicago-based pianist, vocalist, and composer, Alexis Lombre closes our season with new material from her forthcoming album, returning to the Terrace with  her singular blend of avant-garde, hip-hop, R&B, gospel, and jazz.

About the Artist

Alexis Lombre is a pianist, vocalist, composer and producer from Chicago. She discovered early that the true essence of music is not just about what you hear but how music makes you feel. Her musical mission is to keep the ‘Soul’ in music alive. Lombre recently released her single “Come Find Me” which she describes as “lyrically, a gospel song; harmonically, a jazz song and rhythmically, a hip-hop/R&B song. I didn’t create the song with any borders”. As JazzTimes puts it “Lombre realized early on that by refusing to be constrained by convention— whether so-called “jazz” or otherwise—she’d be honoring, rather than defiling, the rich heritage she’d come to embrace.” Alexis has toured nationally all over the United States, and internationally to Canada, Cuba, Brazil, France and South Africa with artists such as Jon Batiste, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Marcus Miller, Endea Owens & The Cookout, Dan Wilson, Nicole Mitchell, Jamila Woods, Tia Fuller, DJ D Nice and the Miles Davis Electric Band. Alexis Lombre was granted the Inaugural 2022 New Music Next Jazz Legacy Award and the 2023 Luminarts Award.

Summer 2020 found Tukes forming a group of local musicians called the Chicago Freedom Ensemble, a music performance and social justice advocacy organization. Through the Chicago Freedom Ensemble, he has supported and led protests, provided political and financial literacy for the local music community, conducted jam sessions throughout the city, and created a citywide network of young multicultural instrumentalists. Tukes, along with a small delegation of these musicians, were invited to perform at the 2020 World’s Expo in Dubai.

Tukes has released three albums under his self-owned label, Vibetown Studios. He performs as a bandleader and a special guest at jazz festivals and various jazz clubs and ensembles throughout the country, and he is a member of the Chicago Jazz Orchestra and the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic. When not performing, Tukes can be found teaching percussion ensembles at various elementary and high schools in the Chicagoland area.