Iqua Colson became a member of the Association for Advancement of Creative Musicians in the early 1970s. In the Downbeat AACM 50th Anniversary issue, vocalist Colson is described as one of the 'ACCM's Powerful Women', along with Peggy Abrams, Sandra Lashley, pianist-composer-singer Amina Claudine Myers, flutist Nicole Mitchell, cellist Tomeka Reid, pianist-singer Ann Ward, violinist Renee Baker, vocalists Dee Alexander and Rita Warford, percussionist Coco Elysses, singer-harpist-flutist Sonjia Hubert Harper and Janis Lane-Ewart. Colson, a former member of a female group called Sojourner, was named a Vocal Talent Deserving Wider Recognition by DownBeat and recognized by Billboard for distinguished achievement as a lyricist. Fred Anderson put together the Fred Anderson Sextet including Colson as vocalist. One of the most active women musicians and vocalists within the early AACM, Colson is referenced as an inspiration by other vocalists like Dee Alexander. She has led bands at women’s jazz festivals, and performs in collaboration with her husband Adegoke Steve Colson with his Steve Colson Quartet, their Colsons Unity Troupe, among other musical collaborations for the AACM and other arts organizations. She served as a member of the board of directors of The Jazz Institute of Chicago, helping to expand audience for the annual Chicago Jazz Festival, and was a founding member of FEPA, producers of Chicago's Underground Fest and Blacklight Film Festival. Listed as a singer who crosses musical boundaries like Abbey Lincoln, Rita Warford, Linda Sharrock, Phil Minton, among others, Colson remains an active member of the AACM and is recognized as an important part of the legacy of the AACM
Arts Education
Iqua Colson became a music team leader in East Orange, New Jersey's Washington Academy of Music at the school's inception in 1994. She then became the coordinator of arts programs for the East Orange School District, focusing on curriculum development and special education projects in the arts. Colson is also part of the K-12 Cicely Tyson School, a school and performing arts center. Colson is a member of New Jersey's Core Curriculum Content Committee for the Arts and served on the board of directors of the Newark Arts Council and the Montclair Arts Council. She has a Masters of Public Administration/Arts Administration degree from Seton Hall University and is a consultant on the arts as a catalyst for educational and/or social change, including neighborhood planning, arts venue design and arts curricula.
