Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Strings: Renegades

298

Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Strings: Renegades

By

View read count
Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Strings: Renegades
Flutist Nicole Mitchell has been earning much deserved praise as of late for her various Chicago-based projects. Mitchell was voted Jazz Flutist of the Year in 2008 by the Jazz Journalist Association and in 2006 the Chicago Tribune named her Chicagoan of the Year.

On Renegades, Mitchell's second release for Delmark Records, the Co-President of the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) takes the listener on a fun, unpredictable ride with her boisterous Black Earth Strings quintet, consisting of violinist/violist Renee Baker, percussionist Shirazette Tinnin, bassist Josh Abrams, and cellist Tomeka Reid. Abrams and Reid both appeared on Mitchell's 2007 Black Earth Ensemble release for Delmark, Black Unstoppable.

With elements of free-jazz, bebop, funk, Afro-Cuban, and classical it's hard to categorize Mitchell's music. One thing for certain, however, is the level of camaraderie between musicians, interpreting Mitchell's challenging, yet soulful compositions. Intricately contrapuntal, pre-conceived ideas ("No Matter What," "Wade," "Aaya's Rainbow") sit side-by-side with open-ended, free form structures ("Symbology #1," "Symbology #2," "Symbology #2a").

The piccolo can be a dangerous instrument in the wrong hands. The instrument's high-pitched piercing sound doesn't always lend itself to spontaneous flourishes. Fortunately, Mitchell is able to coax warm tones out of the instrument on the jagged "No Matter What," one of the more engaging tracks on the disc.

Baker and Reid give compelling performances, melding easily with Mitchell's animated approach. Abrams' looming bass keeps a relenting pace throughout. The bassist swings as hard as anyone with strong walking lines on tunes such as "Ice" and "Wade." Tinnin is commanding with an explosive flurry of funk on "What If" and a hard swinging back-and-forth with Abrams on "Mama Found Out."

A disc worthy of repeated listening, Renegades sheds further light on Mitchell's ever-evolving creativity.

Track Listing

Crossroads; No Matter What; Ice; Windance; Renegades; Be My Own Grace; What If; Symbology #2A; Wade; Waterdance; Symbology #1; Mama Found Out; If I Could Have You The Way I Want You; Symbology #2; Waris Dirie; Aaya's Rainbow.

Personnel

Nicole Mitchell: flute, alto flute, piccolo, vocals; Renee Baker: violin, viola; Tomeka Reid: cello; Josh Abrams: bass, gimbre; Shirazette Tinnin: drums, percussion.

Album information

Title: Renegades | Year Released: 2009 | 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.