To Contact Dawn: Write directly to d_whitney0627@msn.com

Dawn was born in a barren section of the Midwest, not much of a change from the Norwegian soil her grandparents came from.  As a child, she learned as much classical piano and saxophone as possible, all the while vainly trying to sound like a Mississippi blues man or the Tower of Power.  A vacation in New

York started a yearning for all kinds of jazz—free, funky, and swinging, and a lifelong commitment to the spirit.  Youth in Los Angeles was a musical misadventure, and she spent most of her free time writing music and fronting a punk bank set up by one of the Mount Rushmores of the LA punk scene, Tim Ferris.  It led to opening at some major venues in LA (the El Rey, the Viper Room) and some “hipper than thou” underground venues (Small’s, The Garage, Al’s Bar). 

She currently makes her home in Sacramento, living out a passion for all kinds of jazz and the baritone sax, by the gift of lessons from Berklee graduate and world renowned jazz saxophonist Jeff Alkire.  Meeting for Coffee is a first album, almost an accident, and like the name suggests, the start of a relationship.

Here’s what Billboard Magazine had to say about “Meeting For Coffee”:

“. . . (Track 2, “Sandals”) Very nice stuff here.  Extremely easy to listen to and enjoy.  It is evidenced by the find tuned dynamics that superior mastery and understanding of music are present.  It is refreshing to hear music that has this kind of life and depth. . . (Track 6, “Just Looking”) [v]ery well done, lots of good energy going on.  This is an engaging piece that gets feet moving and ears grooving.  There are some memorable sax hooks that make this a distinct piece. . .”  Billboard Song Contest, 2007.