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Music composed by Orbert Davis for TimeLine Theatre Company, Chicago IL (PJ Powers, Artistic Director; Elizabeth K. Auman, Managing Director) and its 2017 production of Paradise Blue written by Dominique Morisseau, directed by Ron OJ Parson, and supported in part by The Chicago Community Trust. Music performed by Orbert Davis and members of Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, featuring Rajiv Halim...

“While listening to Orbert Davis’ trumpet wail on his stirring rendition of Bill Wither’s ‘Ain’t No Sunshine,’ I was inspired to write my own words surrounding the original refrain. Three simple words — Ain’t No Sunshine — they spoke to me deeply about the murders of ‘our daughters’ in Chicago. “I played the song again and again, letting it marinate over my soul while sitting at my computer keyboard. Words seemed to leap from the haunting melancholy rhythm of Orbert’s horn. What I wrote, I presented as a recent column, calling it ‘An Ode to De’Kayla.’” —John Fountain