Jazz Articles about Nicole Mitchell

like 449

Nicole Mitchell/ Indigo Trio: Anaya

by John Sharpe
March 13, 2009

The Indigo Trio's sophomore outing on the classy French Rogue Art imprint delivers the record fans of Nicole Mitchell the flutist have been waiting for. Mitchell the composer and arranger has been to the fore of late on Black Unstoppable (Delmark, 2007) and most notably Xenogenesis Suite (Firehouse 12, 2008), but with instrumentation stripped to the bare essentials, her unique flute styling finally gets the shop window it deserves.

Not that this is a solo vehicle. Any set featuring the ...

like 252

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

by Kurt Gottschalk
October 6, 2008

The words ‘flute’ and ‘vocals’ on the back of a jazz record can suggest something fairly specific, something that is, well, fine for those who like it. But the combination needn’t necessitate an easy listen and if anyone in recent memory was likely to break the mold, it was Chicago’s Nicole Mitchell.

like 278

Black Unstoppable

by John Sharpe
October 5, 2008

Nicole Mitchell Black Unstoppable Delmark 2008

The release of flutist Nicole Mitchell's Black Unstoppable as a DVD as well as a CD presents the listener with a difficult choice beyond the usual dichotomy of sound or (added) vision. Although the program is the same (though with two tracks fewer than on the studio CD), the 82-minute DVD features extended live performances, recorded in June 2007, at Fred Anderson's new Velvet Lounge.

like 248

Nicole Mitchell: Black Unstoppable

by Nic Jones
May 25, 2008

Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble Black Unstoppable Delmark 2007

This DVD is representative of lighter, airier aspects of flautist Nicole Mitchell's music, and the seven- piece Black Earth Ensemble puts a whole new spin on the notion through skillful deployment. The music is never forced and always the product of organic growth. Delmark's customary no-frills presentation of a live set ensures that the focus remains on the musicians throughout, and they breathe life into ...

like 171

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 ...

like 190

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 ...

like 405

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 ...