Nicole Mitchell....

Chicago, great redoubt vanguard of musicians and fans to experimentalism libertarians, goes to show their new talent. Since the mid-90s new voices like Rob Mazurek and Ken Vandermark - plus veteran musicians who are reactivated, as Fred Anderson - of Chicago to urge the world of "underground", recovering the free jazz, mixing different styles and creating projects and personalíssimas compositions comprising from tradition, elements african-american, world music, has manjar free improvisation, to projects where the new technology and post-modernity are included as inseparable elements of the new formats jazzística composition: just observe the work combos of personalíssimos Vandermark 5 (of Ken Vandermark) and Chicago Underground (from Mazurek), two of the most innovative training and raised in Chicago, of course, influenced by the teachings of the entity AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians), since the decade conducts studies of 70 major branches in the integration of improvisation and writing music.

Recently, more specifically at the beginning of the XXI century, the greatest stronghold of the "progressive jazz" in the U.S. had a another great artist to be proud: this is the flutist, singer and bandleader and composer Nicole Mitchell, which, through its original projects, is launching discs intense, exciting and creative, according to a USA line of work that both the teachings of the aforementioned composition and updates the AACM School of improvisation styles of sets as Art Ensemble of Chicago trumpeter Lester Bowie of all that in the'70s, free jazz mixed with elements of world music.

Starting his career as a leader between the years 2001 and 2002, Nicole Mitchell surprised the media of the North American jazz compositions to show very brilliant understanding of tradition, contemporary, and arrangements that show a sophisticated interaction between the sounds emitted by their sidemans sets: the Black Earth Ensemble, Black Earth Strings and the Harambee Project, multicultural with three sets which the flutist performs his experiences and makes mixtures of jazz with other styles of world music, each in a way.Besides the peculiar sound of his flute, which requires leadership face the new generation of talent in Chicago, the compositions of Nicole Mitchell are very praised by critics: not to be missed are the suites Africa Rising Trilogy (piece in three movements, in this disk Africa Rising 2002) and Xenogenesis Suite (suite consists of a set of nine tracks, this one disc dedicated to the namesake of science fiction writer Octavia Butler, Xenogenesis Suite: A Tribute to Octavia Butler, premiered at the Vision Festival in 2007 and launched by seal Firehouse12 in 2009).

Not for nothing, therefore, that critics of Downbeat magazine awarded flute as a highlight in the category "Rising Star Flutist" 2005 to 2008, the Jazz Journalist Association awarded in the category "Jazz Flutist of the Year 2008" and the Chicago newspaper Tribune medal in the category "Chicagoan of the Year" in 2006, among other awards and honorable mentions in the spotlight of major American and European jazz.
In parallel to their projects that soil mixed with elements of jazz and african music in the style of singing rhythm'blues, Nicole Mitchell works with the Chicago Sinfonietta orchestra playing flute and piccolo soloist convidade as participating in several "emsembles" between the major scenarios of Chicago and Vancouver, Canada.

As a collaborator in groups and bands, improvisation, already participated in other major projects alongside the most creative and distinguished musicians of the avant-garde: among them are George Lewis, Miya Masaoka, Anthony Braxton, Orbert Davis, Lori Freedman, Muhal Richard Abrams, Hamid Drake, David Boykin, Ed WILKERSON, Dee Alexander, Rob Mazurek, Harrison Bankhead, Arveeayl Ra, among other veterans and younger musicians pantheon of art. Another fact that deserves attention is that, apart from Nicole to be successful and cool in the scenario of the current avant-garde, it is not just a fruit of the AACM school to be one of the new educators and leaders of projects facing the institution mediatic of creative music in the U.S., as well as being a member teaching in Vancouver Creative Music Institute, leading workshops and projects in schools and universities as University of Guelph (Canada), University of Louieville, Dartmouth College, Howard University, Amherst College, South Suburban College, University of Illinois and Michigan, serving also as director of the jazz band from Wheaton College.

Participating in many projects and being highlighted in a number of specialist jazz spotlight, Nicole Mitchell presents itself, finally, as another woman - among the many women - to be part of the list of innovative tools that are contributing not only to the jazz is more equal between men and women, but contributing in particular to the diversification of heaven and new paradigms in the current scenario of contemporary jazz.
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