Renowned Indianapolis-based jazz musician Rob Dixon is the inaugural Artist in Residence for the Center for Africana Studies and Culture in the IU School of Liberal Arts in Indianapolis. He is in residence for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 academic years.

In this role, Dixon serves as an ambassador for CASC and promotes the proliferation of public-facing events and creative activity as an outlet for artistic expression on the Indiana University Indianapolis campus and in the community.

Dixon, a tenor saxophonist who moved to the top of the New York City jazz scene before moving back to Indianapolis in 2003, continues to work with internationally renowned artists while also serving as an adjunct professor at IU Indianapolis and jazz studies lecturer at Northwestern’s Bienen School of Music. He is the founder of the ensemble Triology as well as the Indianapolis Jazz Collective, an ensemble that has recorded an album titled “Jazz on Canvas” and includes pianist Steve Allee, bassist Nick Tucker, Trumpeter Marlin McKay, and drummer Kenny Phelps. He also serves as the Artistic Director for Indy Jazz Fest, and mentors the Jazz Futures, an Indianapolis Jazz Foundation-sponsored ensemble comprised of talented high school students. Dixon, who studied at Hampton University and Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, continues to perform, and tour frequently in the United States and abroad.

This project is made possible with generous funding from the Indianapolis Arts and Humanities Institute and the Indianapolis Foundation.