Nicole MitchellShare

 

Nicole Margaret Mitchell, a creative flutist, composer and bandleader, has been named “Top Flutist 2010″ by Downbeat Magazine‘s Critic’s Polls and also placed first as Downbeat Magazine’s “Rising Star Flutist 2005-2010.” She was awarded “Jazz Flutist of the Year 2010″ by the Jazz Journalist Association and “Chicagoan of the Year 2006″ by the Chicago Tribune.

Mitchell has been called “a compelling improviser of wit, determination, positivity, and tremendous talent…on her way to becoming one of the greatest living flutists in jazz” by Peter Margasak for Chicago Reader.

The founder of the critically acclaimed Black Earth Ensemble and Black Earth Strings, Mitchell’s compositions reach across sound worlds, integrating new ideas with moments in the legacy of jazz, gospel, pop, and African percussion to create a fascinating synthesis of “postmodern jazz.”

With her ensembles, as a featured flutist, and as a music educator, Mitchell has been a highlight at festivals throughout Europe, the U.S. and Canada. The first woman president of Chicago’s groundbreaking Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), Mitchell works to raise respect and integrity for the improvised flute, to contribute her innovative voice to the jazz legacy, and to continue the bold and exciting directions that the AACM has charted for decades.

Mitchell’s entry into the world of improvisation was inspired by trombonist Jimmy Cheatham and flutist James Newton while a student at University of California San Diego. Her earliest performances were with the Afrobeat band Une Igede, led by master percussionist Nagite Agindotan, a protege of Fela Kuti. After a studying briefly at Oberlin with Donald Byrd and Wendall Logan, Mitchell moved to Chicago in her early twenties. While playing on the street in Chicago, Mitchell met many members of the AACM who would soon become mentors and fellow musicians. Mitchell joined the AACM in 1995, and helped to co-found the AACM’s first all-woman ensemble, Samana.

Nicole Mitchell’s music continues the exciting directions in music that AACM has charted for decades. As an educator, Mitchell has done jazz and composer residencies at Vancouver Jazz Festival, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, University of New Mexico, Cal State University Fullerton, Guelph University, and others. Chicagoan of the Year 2006 (as named by the Chicago Tribune), Mitchell is also a member of the Orbert Davis’ Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, Chicago Sinfonietta, Anthony Braxton’s 12+1-tet, Rob Mazurek’s Exploding Star Orchestra, and David Boykin Expanse. As a composer, she has won fellowships from Chamber Music America and the Illinois Arts Council and has been commissioned by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, Ravinia, The Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art and the Jazz Institute of Chicago. Mitchell has seven recordings as leader and several recordings as co-leader. Mitchell currently is a visiting lecturer at University of Illinois Chicago, where she directs the UIC Jazz Ensemble and teaches jazz history. She also teaches jazz at ChiArts, Chicago’s first public high school for the arts.

Mitchell will be performing with Jason Adasiewicz on vibraphone, Josh Abrams on bass, and Francisco Rosaly on drums.

Nicole Mitchell will also lead a clinic Saturday at 5:30pm in 1210 Turner. The topic is “What is free jazz improvisation and composition?”

 

Nicole Mitchell website