Career Highlights
Accomplishments & Timeline
Music & Performance Career
1979
Joined Chicago composer Kelan Phil Cohran’s Circle of Sound, documented as part of the ensemble.
1988
Performed with Phil Cohran and Circle of Sound at the Chicago Jazz Festival, Petrillo Music Shell (September 2).
1992–98
Vocalist, clarinetist, and percussionist with Samana, historically recognized as the AACM’s first all-woman ensemble.
1993
Recorded African Skies with Kelan Phil Cohran & Legacy at Chicago’s Adler Planetarium (bass clarinet, guitar, flute, vocals).
1997
Performed with Samana at the Chicago Jazz Festival (August 31) — the first all-woman AACM ensemble to appear at the festival.
2003
Vocalist in Nicole Mitchell’s multimedia work Vision Quest: Hope, Future and Destiny.
2005–06
Featured vocalist with National Trust; helped connect Hypnotic Brass Ensemble to New York City’s underground music scene.
2008
Released debut solo album, Cosmos Watching.
2008–09
International press recognition alongside Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, including a feature in The New Yorker (2009).
2010
Formal release of African Skies (recorded 1993).
2013
Featured vocalist on “Fly,” from Hypnotic Brass Ensemble’s album FLY, released June 12.
2013–14
Featured in the documentary Brothers Hypnotic (dir. Reuben Atlas, prod. Sam Pollard); screened at SXSW, Hot Docs, and other major festivals; broadcast on PBS’s Independent Lens.
2017
Released second solo album, We Can Change Things (15 tracks), July 10.
2024
Performed at the Bronzeville Vendor Fair & Wildflower Music Festival, Illinois Institute of Technology, with her seven-piece ensemble Sedallah.
2024
International performance with Hypnotic Brass Ensemble at the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival, Cork, Ireland (October 30).
2025
Released Inner City Bluze, Vol. 1, featuring Hypnotic Brass Ensemble (Pheelco Vinyl).
2025
African Skies received a restored audiophile reissue (November 7), again crediting Sadalla on bass clarinet, guitar, flute, and vocals.
Education Career
– 2016
Career educator, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago, Illinois — curriculum development, literacy, and culturally responsive, student-centered instruction. Retired 2016.
Maternal Health & Birth-Work Credentials
Doula Certification
BA NIA Inc., Chicago, Illinois · 2022
Certified Childbirth Educator (CBE)
Childbirth Professionals · 2024
Breastfeeding Specialist Certification
Childbirth Professionals · 2025
Death Doula Certification
IAP Career College · 2025
Honors & Recognition
No formal awards, fellowships, or honors are documented yet. This section is intentionally left open so specific honors can be added as they are confirmed — rather than filled with placeholders.
English