Jazz Articles about Nicole Mitchell

Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble: Xenogenesis Suite: A Tribute to Octavia Butler

by John Sharpe
May 16, 2008

Expectations must have been confounded in the premiere of flutist Nicole Mitchell's Xenogenesis Suite at the 2007 Vision Festival. Presented here in a crisply recorded version from the Firehouse 12 studio the previous day, the suite is a far cry from her previous Festival appearance with a freewheeling trio in 2005, and very different again from her recent well-received Black Unstoppable (Delmark, 2007) release. The focus this time out is on Mitchell the composer, whose intentions are manifest through some ...

Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble: Xenogenesis Suite: A Tribute To Octavia Butler

by Nic Jones
April 23, 2008

There's both a buzz and an independence about flautist Nicole Mitchell. Xenogenesis Suite: A Tribute To Octavia Butler is her second disc for a label other than her own and it marks the arrival of a singular talent for whom the future holds much promise. That said there's a pervasive anxiety in this music that can render it forbidding.

While there's nothing intrinsically wrong with edginess in music, when the strength of that quality comes at ...

Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble: Xenogenesis Suite: A Tribute to Octavia Butler

by Troy Collins
April 22, 2008

The most important jazz flutist of her generation, Nicole Mitchell reveals another facet of her diverse musical persona on Xenogenesis Suite. Inspired by the work of Hugo award winning Afro-Futurist science fiction author Octavia Butler (1947-2006), Mitchell transposes Butler's words into an abstract sonic travelogue. Breathlessly vivacious and boldly creative, it is Mitchell's most experimental and challenging release to date.

Moved by Dawn (1987), the first book in Butler's Xenogenesis trilogy, Mitchell approached Chamber Music America for a ...

Nicole Mitchell’s Black Earth Ensemble: Black Unstoppable

by AAJ Italy Staff
February 20, 2008

Ce l'ha fatta a farsi faticosamente largo tra le definizioni di comodo/curiosità che hanno accompagnato i primi anni della sua carriera, Nicole Mitchell. Flautista, prima donna a presiedere l'AACM, la musicista di Chicago vede ora sempre più riconosciute le sue qualità di artista totale, e consapevole, impegnata a costruire delle narrazioni il cui significato va ben oltre l'aspetto prettamente musicale. Il Black Earth Ensemble è l'organico che da sempre le consente di dispiegare al meglio la forza di queste narrazioni: ...

Nicole Mitchell: Black Unstoppable

by Jerry D'Souza
February 13, 2008

Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble Black Unstoppable Delmark 2008

Nicole Mitchell is probably best known for her work in jazz, but she recently has explored classical and African music as well as rhythm & blues and soul. She puts it all together impressively, letting the music speak loud and clear of the passion that beats within her. Her approach reflects the philosophy of a singular artist who has a different way of ...

Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble: Black Unstoppable

by John Barron
December 24, 2007

Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble Black Unstoppable Delmark Records 2007

Flutist Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble captures the essence of urban jazz, especially as it relates to Chicago. Mitchell's compositions mix avant-garde with bebop, blues and soul, encompassing decades of musical development. The flow among styles on Black Unstoppable, filmed at Chicagoâ????s famed Velvet Lounge, is seamless. One groove melds into the next, creating the effect of a multi-movement suite intent on ...

Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble: Black Unstoppable

by Troy Collins
December 7, 2007

Co-President of the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) and voted Down Beat Magazine's # 1 Rising Star Flutist for the past two years, Nicole Mitchell is the most significant jazz flutist of her generation.

A former student of flutist James Newton, Mitchell is a peerless improviser, having fully absorbed the extended vocal techniques pioneered by Rahsaan Roland Kirk and the abstruse verticality of Eric Dolphy. Bolstering emotionally direct lyricism with edgy phrasing and expressive vocalisms without abandoning ...