alocispepraluger102 Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainmen...ent_critics-hed 2006 CHICAGOANS OF THE YEAR: JAZZ Nicole Mitchell: An inspirational, multifaceted innovator Advertisement By Howard Reich Tribune arts critic December 31, 2006 Just a few years ago, Nicole Mitchell was a promising Chicago flutist generating palpable buzz among local music connoisseurs. Today, she's an internationally known artist who brings the sound of Chicago to audiences around the world, and not only through her virtuosity on flute. As a composer, bandleader and jazz conceptualizer, she emerged in 2006 as a center of gravity for music in Chicago and beyond. Fellow musicians, major promoters and leading arts organizations drew energy and inspiration from her work and her vision. In the past 12 months alone, Mitchell earned ovations from Paris to Rome to Vancouver; led a contingent of innovative musicians during a "Made in Chicago" jazz festival in Poland; and won a coveted commission from Chamber Music America to compose a large-scale work, to be premiered next year in New York. That she also directed her Black Earth Ensemble to wide acclaim, toiled as co-president of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and created the AACM Creative Youth Ensemble suggests that she's an artist on a mission. "I'm getting to stretch out," says Mitchell, with characteristic understatement. "It just seems a natural progression, with more and more people being exposed to my work." Certainly an ever-growing audience is seeking her out, realizing that Mitchell has blossomed from ascendant flutist to multifaceted artist. Ironically, her greatest work of 2006 may be least known to Chicagoans, because she composed an epic, two-hour-plus suite that received its world premiere last month in Poznan, Poland, in a performance with such noted colleagues as vocalist Dee Alexander, bassist Tatsu Aoki and saxophonist David Boykin. The "Harambee Project" drew critical and popular acclaim in Poland, where a standing-room-only crowd embraced the Chicagoans. "Everyone loved Nicole," says Lauren Deutsch, executive director of the Jazz Institute of Chicago and co-organizer of the Chicago-to-Poznan expedition (which also featured Deutsch's celebrated photos of the Chicago jazz scene). "The whole city was pretty much bubbling over with excitement when we got there," adds Mitchell. "Every concert was SRO -- they really didn't want us to stop." The reason, says Mitchell, has less to do with herself and more to do with sound and spirit of jazz, Chicago style. "Whenever I go to Poland or Paris or wherever, people ask me, `Why does all this great music come out of Chicago?'" says Mitchell. "I think it's because of the community of musicians and supporters who live in Chicago." None more promising than Mitchell. ---------- hreich@tribune.com Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasing the Korean Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 When I saw the thread title, I thought it was about the Bacharach tune of the same name... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alocispepraluger102 Posted January 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 (edited) When I saw the thread title, I thought it was about the Bacharach tune of the same name... nikki definitely aint no bachrach tune(plays pretty, with lots of feeling, though) Edited January 4, 2007 by alocispepraluger102 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clifford_thornton Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 When I saw the thread title, I thought it was about the Bacharach tune of the same name... I thought it'd be about Swell Maps... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasing the Korean Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 nikki definitely aint no bachrach tune(plays pretty, with lots of feeling, though) Check out Vinnie Bell's definitive version of this Bacharach classic, originally released on one of his US Decca LPs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheldonm Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 Here's a photo I made of Nicole in 2005. m~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alocispepraluger102 Posted January 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 ........ am very partial to the recent thrilljockey 'frequency' recording with nicole, bankhead, wilkerson, and avreeyal ra(which can be purchased and downloaded from thrilljockey). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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