Summer Tuesdays come alive on the MCA’s Anne and John Kern Terrace Garden with free music highlighting artists from Chicago’s internationally renowned jazz community. This week, the Alexander/McLean Project returns to the terrace with the widely popular vocals of Dee Alexander and guitarist John McLean. The band is rounded out by three beloved Chicago musicians: Steve Million on keyboard, Jeremiah Hunt on bass, and Charles Rick Heath IV on drums.

About the Artists

Born on Chicago’s West Side, Dee Alexander is one of the city’s most gifted and respected vocalists and songwriters. Her talents span every music genre, from gospel to R & B, blues to neo-soul. Yet her true heart and soul are experienced in their purest form through jazz. Growing up in a household steeped in the recordings of Dinah Washington, Alexander names Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, and Chicago saxophonist Henry Huff among her major influences, all of which set her on the path to becoming one of the most accomplished voice improvisers in the world today. Alexander is currently a WFMT Jazz Radio host.

John McLean’s career has included work as a guitarist, composer, arranger, producer, bandleader, and educator. Since completing his studies at the Berklee College of Music (BM) and the University of Miami (MM), he has toured throughout the world and appeared on more than 50 recordings. John has performed and/or recorded with artists including Kurt Elling, Mose Allison, Randy Brecker, Branford Marsalis, Anat Cohen, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Richie Cole, Ken Nordine, Joe Locke, Regina Carter, Louis Bellson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Terry Collier, Renee Fleming, John Patitucci, Adam Nussbaum, Ernie Watts, Dave Douglas, Patricia Barber, Kendrick Scott, Arthur Blythe, Eddie Gomez, and many others. Over the course of his 30 years of touring as both a leader and sideman, John has performed in virtually every major city in North America as well as London, Paris, Moscow, Johannesburg, Tokyo, Beijing, Sydney, Sao Paulo, Jakarta, Dublin, Rome, Madrid, Warsaw, Berlin, Oslo, Reykjavik, Oslo, Stockholm, Istanbul, Bucharest, Helsinki, Seoul, Lisbon, Vienna, Budapest, Brussels, Prague, Copenhagen, Zurich, and many more. John has conducted clinics throughout the United States and Canada, as well as in Europe and Asia. He currently resides in the Chicago area and teaches at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois.