After an extensive search and review, the Chicago Jazz Ensemble (CJE) has appointed Kate Dumbleton ’89 its newest executive director. “We believe we have selected an executive director who is creative and talented, and whose vision will take the CJE into new directions without compromising the integrity of the music or the outstanding reputation the ensemble has built since it first took up residency at Columbia College Chicago in 1965,” said erstwhile executive director J. Richard Dunscomb.
Dumbleton joins the CJE in time to observe its 11th American Heritage Jazz Series, which celebrates the music of Benny Goodman, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong.
Dumbleton has promoted the arts in various capacities since 1994. In addition to the operation of a successful art exhibition and performance space in San Francisco, her credentials include music direction and programming for jazz clubs and festivals, direction of artist residencies for nonprofit arts organizations, and venue, record label and artist management. She has collaborated with a diversity of jazz and improvisational music artists to present numerous works at performing arts centers, museums and theaters.
Most recently, Dumbleton has collaborated with Rova Saxophone Quartet, Chicago Composers Forum, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Yerba Buena Garden Festival, Chicago Cultural Center, Art Institute of Chicago, jazz composer-musician Marcus Shelby, curator-writer John Corbett, spoken-word artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and Assoc. for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) members George Lewis, Douglas R. Ewart and Nicole Mitchell.
Dumbleton earned a master’s degree in arts administration and policy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She graduated cum laude from Hamilton with a degree in history and English.
Dumbleton resides in Chicago.
adapted from Chicago Jazz Ensemble press release
