Nicole Mitchell (born 1967) is an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
flautist and composer who teaches jazz at the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
.
She is a former chairwoman of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (
AACM).
Early life and education
Mitchell was born in Syracuse, New York, and moved to
Anaheim, California
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
at the age of eight.
Her first instruments were piano and viola, which she started playing in fourth grade. She was classically trained in flute and played in youth orchestras as a teenager.
Though she intended to major in computer science in college, she took a class in improvisation from
Jimmy Cheatham
James Rudolph Cheatham (June 18, 1924 – January 12, 2007) was an American jazz trombonist and teacher who played with Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, and Ornette Coleman.
In 1978, Cheatham was invited to lead the jazz program at Universit ...
at
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...
, and started
busking
Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...
in the streets playing jazz flute.
After two years at UCSD, she transferred to
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...
in 1987, then moved to Chicago in 1990.
Mitchell returned to school in 1993 and 1996, completing her degree at
Chicago State University
Chicago State University (CSU) is a predominantly black public university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1867 as the Cook County Normal School, it was an innovative teachers college. Eventually the Chicago Public Schools assumed control of t ...
in 1998; she earned a master's degree from
Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system ...
in 2000.
Career
In Chicago, Mitchell performed on the streets and worked for
Third World Press
Third World Press (TWP) is the largest independent black-owned press in the United States, founded in 1967 by Haki R. Madhubuti (then known as Don L. Lee), with early support from Johari Amini and Carolyn Rodgers. Since the 1960s, the company ha ...
, a publisher of
black culture Black culture refers to:
* Culture of Africa
* African-American culture
* The culture of black communities in other parts of the world, see Black people
See also
* Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
The Schomburg Center for Resear ...
.
She also met drummer Maia, and bassist, sitarist and storyteller Shanta Nurullah, forming the all-female ensemble Samana and eventually joining the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (
AACM).
After earning her master's degree, she began teaching at schools around Chicago at the end of the 1990s, holding positions at
Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system ...
,
Chicago State University
Chicago State University (CSU) is a predominantly black public university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1867 as the Cook County Normal School, it was an innovative teachers college. Eventually the Chicago Public Schools assumed control of t ...
,
Northeastern Illinois University
Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) is a public university in Chicago, Illinois. NEIU serves approximately 9,000 students in the region and is a Hispanic-serving institution. The main campus is located in the community area of North Park wi ...
,
Wheaton College, and the
University of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a Public university, public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus esta ...
.
In 1995 Mitchell met
Hamid Drake
Hamid Drake (born August 3, 1955) is an American jazz drummer and percussionist.
By the close of the 1990s, Hamid Drake was widely regarded as one of the best percussionists in jazz and improvised music. Incorporating Afro-Cuban, Indian, and Afr ...
and worked with him throughout the second half of the decade. In 1997 she began an association with saxophonist , who encouraged her to start her own group, leading to Mitchell's establishment of the Black Earth Ensemble.
In the early 2000s, she became a co-host for the Avant-Garde Jazz Jam Sessions in Chicago that were started by Boykin, bassist
Karl E. H. Seigfried
Karl E. H. Seigfried is a German–American jazz, rock, and classical bassist, guitarist, composer, bandleader, writer and educator based in Chicago.
Seigfried has performed and taught on the double bass "in virtually all musical styles – ...
, and drummer
Mike Reed.
Mitchell issued her debut album, ''
Vision Quest
A vision quest is a rite of passage in some Native American cultures. It is usually only undertaken by young males entering adulthood.
Individual Indigenous cultures have their own names for their rites of passage. "Vision quest" is an English- ...
'', with Black Earth Ensemble in 2001 on her label, Dreamtime Records. The album included appearances by Hamid Drake, Savoir Faire, , , and . ''Vision Quest'' was expanded into a theater piece in 2003.
In 2006, Mitchell worked in the group Frequency with
Harrison Bankhead
Harrison Bankhead is an American jazz double-bassist.
Career
Bankhead became associated with the Chicago jazz scene in the early-1980s. Early in his career, he performed with Fred Anderson on tour and at Anderson's Chicago club, the Velvet Lo ...
,
Edward Wilkerson
Edward L. Wilkerson Jr. (born July 27, 1953 in Terre Haute, Indiana) is an internationally recognized American jazz composer, arranger, musician, and educator based in Chicago. As founder and director of the cutting-edge octet 8 Bold Souls, and th ...
, and Avreeayl Ra.
Thrill Jockey
Thrill Jockey is an American independent record label established by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards and based in Chicago.
History
Richards started the label in 1992 with $35,000 of family and personal capital, while ...
released
their album during that year. Beginning in 2017, she toured and recorded with the
Art Ensemble of Chicago
The Art Ensemble of Chicago is an avant-garde jazz group that grew out of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians ( AACM) in the late 1960s. The ensemble integrates many jazz styles and plays many instruments, including "little ...
.
The Artifacts trio—Mitchell,
Tomeka Reid
Tomeka Reid (born 1977) is an American composer, improviser, cellist, curator, and teacher.
Reid has performed and recorded with the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Nicole Mitchell, Anthony Braxton, the AACM Great Black Music Ensemble, Mike Reed' ...
, and
Mike Reed—released albums in 2015 and 2019. (In 2008–2009, the three were the executive team of the
Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians
The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1965 in Chicago by pianist Muhal Richard Abrams, pianist Jodie Christian, drummer Steve McCall, and composer Phil Cohran. The AACM is devot ...
(AACM).)
As of 2022, Mitchell has continued to use the Black Earth and Black Earth Ensemble names for many of her projects, including recordings. For example, in 2022 she led performances by Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth SWAY quartet, with Chicago-based musicians on keyboard, on drums and electronics, and on
diddley bow
The diddley bow is a single-stringed American instrument which influenced the development of the blues sound. It consists of a single string of baling wire tensioned between two nails on a board over a glass bottle, which is used both as a bridg ...
, and everyone singing. (In 2022, Elysses and Armstrong are Chair and Secretary, respectively, of the AACM.)
Mitchell published her first book in 2022, ''The Mandorla Letters: for the hopeful'', under the name Nicole Mitchell Gantt.
University professor
Mitchell joined the music department at the
University of California, Irvine
The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and pr ...
as an assistant professor and was promoted to professor in 2013. She participated in the Integrated Composition, Improvisation, and Technology graduate program. In 2019, she moved to the
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...
as the Williams S. Dietrich II Chair of Jazz Studies and Professor of Music.
[ In 2022, she took on a position as professor of music at University of Virginia.
]
Awards and honors
* ''Down Beat
' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...
'' magazine named her a Rising Star for flute in Critics' Polls of 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. From 2010 to 2022 she has won the "top flutist" categories.
* Herb Alpert Award in the Arts, California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...
, 2011
* Doris Duke Award 2012
* United States Artist 2020
Personal life
Mitchell's husband of ten years, Calvin Bernard Gantt, died on July 31, 2021.
Discography
As leader/co-leader
* ''Vision Quest
A vision quest is a rite of passage in some Native American cultures. It is usually only undertaken by young males entering adulthood.
Individual Indigenous cultures have their own names for their rites of passage. "Vision quest" is an English- ...
'' (Dreamtime, 2001)
* '' Afrika Rising'' (Dreamtime, 2002)
* '' Hope, Future and Destiny'' (Dreamtime, 2004)
* ''Frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is eq ...
'' with Edward Wilkerson
Edward L. Wilkerson Jr. (born July 27, 1953 in Terre Haute, Indiana) is an internationally recognized American jazz composer, arranger, musician, and educator based in Chicago. As founder and director of the cutting-edge octet 8 Bold Souls, and th ...
, Harrison Bankhead
Harrison Bankhead is an American jazz double-bassist.
Career
Bankhead became associated with the Chicago jazz scene in the early-1980s. Early in his career, he performed with Fred Anderson on tour and at Anderson's Chicago club, the Velvet Lo ...
, and Avreeayl Ra (Thrill Jockey, 2006)
* ''Indigo Trio: Live in Montreal'' ( Greenleaf, 2007)
* '' Black Unstoppable'' ( Delmark, 2007)
* '' Xenogenesis Suite'' (Firehouse 12, 2008)
* '' Anaya'' (RogueArt
RogueArt (also written Rogueart and Rogue Art) is a French independent record label based in Paris. It was founded by record producer Michel Dorbon in 2005 and specialises in jazz and improvised music.
History
RogueArt was founded by record p ...
, 2009)
* '' Renegades'' (Delmark, 2009)
* '' Emerald Hills'' (RogueArt, 2010)
* ''Before After'' with Joëlle Léandre
Joëlle Léandre (born 12 September 1951 in Aix-en-Provence, France) is a French double bassist, vocalist, and composer active in Contemporary classical music, new music and free improvisation.
In the field of contemporary music, she has perfor ...
and Dylan van der Schyff (RogueArt, 2011)
* ''The Ethiopian Princess Meets the Tantric Priest'' (RogueArt, 2011)
* '' Awakening'' (Delmark, 2011)
* '' Arc of O'' (RogueArt, 2012)
* '' Three Compositions'' with Roscoe Mitchell
Roscoe Mitchell (born August 3, 1940) is an American composer, jazz instrumentalist, and educator, known for being "a technically superb – if idiosyncratic – saxophonist". ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' described him as "one of the key figures ...
(RogueArt, 2012)
* ''Aquarius
Aquarius may refer to:
Astrology
* Aquarius (astrology), an astrological sign
* Age of Aquarius, a time period in the cycle of astrological ages
Astronomy
* Aquarius (constellation)
* Aquarius in Chinese astronomy
Arts and entertainme ...
'' (Delmark, 2013)
* ''Engraved in the Wind'' (RogueArt, 2013)
* '' Intergalactic Beings'' (FPE, 2014)
* '' The Secret Escapades of Velvet Anderson'' (RogueArt, 2014)
* '' Artifacts'' with Tomeka Reid
Tomeka Reid (born 1977) is an American composer, improviser, cellist, curator, and teacher.
Reid has performed and recorded with the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Nicole Mitchell, Anthony Braxton, the AACM Great Black Music Ensemble, Mike Reed' ...
and Mike Reed (482 Music, 2015)
* '' Moments of Fatherhood'' (RogueArt, 2016)
* '' Mandorla Awakening II - Emerging Worlds'' (FPE, 2016)
* ''Liberation Narratives'' (Third World, 2017)
* ''Maroon Cloud'' (FPE, 2017)
* ''All Things Are'' (RogueArt, 2019)
* ''Earthseed'' (FPE, 2020) with Lisa E. Harris
* ''...and then there's this'', with Artifacts (Nicole Mitchell, Tomeka Reid
Tomeka Reid (born 1977) is an American composer, improviser, cellist, curator, and teacher.
Reid has performed and recorded with the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Nicole Mitchell, Anthony Braxton, the AACM Great Black Music Ensemble, Mike Reed' ...
, and Mike Reed) (Astral Spirits Records
Astral Spirits Records is an independent record label specializing in free jazz, improvisation, and experimental music. Based in Austin, Texas, the label was founded in 2014 by musician Nathan Cross, who started Astral Spirits as a platform for ...
, 2021)
As guest
(Incomplete)
* The AACM Great Black Music Ensemble, ''At Umbria Jazz 2009'' (Musica Jazz
''Musica Jazz'' is an Italian monthly magazine specializing in jazz. Founded in 1945 by journalist Gian Carlo Testoni, it is one of the world's longest-running jazz magazines, publishing reviews and news articles covering the jazz genre; it once p ...
, 2010)
* Art Ensemble of Chicago
The Art Ensemble of Chicago is an avant-garde jazz group that grew out of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians ( AACM) in the late 1960s. The ensemble integrates many jazz styles and plays many instruments, including "little ...
, ''We Are On the Edge'' ( Pi, 2019)
External links
Nicole Mitchell Gantt's University of Pittsburgh faculty webpage
AllMusic's biography of Nicole Mitchell
Nicole Mitchell at University of Virginia
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Nicole
American jazz flautists
University of Pittsburgh faculty
Musicians from Syracuse, New York
1967 births
Living people
Chicago State University faculty
Northern Illinois University faculty
Northeastern Illinois University faculty
University of Illinois Chicago faculty
Wheaton College (Illinois) faculty
Women flautists
Jazz musicians from New York (state)
RogueArt artists
Firehouse 12 Records artists
21st-century American composers
21st-century American women musicians
African-American jazz composers
American jazz composers
African-American women musicians
American women musicians
21st-century African-American women
21st-century African-American musicians
20th-century African-American people
20th-century African-American women
Chicago State University alumni
Northern Illinois University alumni
21st-century flautists