Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Nicole Mitchell: Awakening

122

Nicole Mitchell: Awakening

By

View read count
Nicole Mitchell: Awakening
This is could be called flautist Niicole Mitchell's first blowing date, although the rarefied nature of her music renders the term only loosely applicable. It's true that, in working with a quartet, she's created the right circumstances for music more reflective of the tradition to happen, but the results are no mere reiteration of a fading blueprint—thanks, in no small part, to guitarist Jeff Parker, the catalyst which sparks the revolutionary nature of this program

There are echoes of Eric Dolphy's later music in the brief "Snowflakes," but its brevity sadly ensures that it doesn't evolve much. By contrast, the lengthy "Momentum" amounts to free bop of a singular order. Mitchell's solo is a model of florid restraint, while beneath her the rhythm trio works up a veritable storm without teetering over into incoherence.

The intriguingly odd meter of "Center of the Earth" sets Mitchell up for a dark-hued solo which highlights the evolution of her musicianship. Her breath control is now at a stage where she can go anywhere; couple this with her not being in thrall to her undoubted technique, and she provides one of the best hopes for the future of this music.

So, the blowing date notion notwithstanding, it's hard to avoid the conclusion that Mitchell is above such things. There's something innately organic about the likes of Awakening which transcends the idea, making a program that reveals a previously undisclosed aspect of the flautist's artistry. She has such a fine group to aid her in that endeavor that hopefully it will not be too long before they return to the studio.

Track Listing

Curly Top; Journey on a Thread; Center of the Earth; Snowflakes; Momentum; More Than I Can Say; There; F.O.C.; Awakening.

Personnel

Nicole Mitchell: flute; Jeff Parker: guitar; Harrison Bankhead: bass; Avreeayl Ra; drums, percussion.

Album information

Title: Awakening | Year Released: 2011 | Record Label: Delmark Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT



Nicole Mitchell Concerts

Oct 17 Fri
Oct 18 Sat

Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.