Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Nicole Mitchell was born on February 17, 1967 in Syracuse, New York where she was raised until age eight, when her family moved to Anaheim, California. She began with piano and viola in the fourth grade; however, she was classically trained in flute and played in youth orchestras as a teenager. Her initial college major in math was superseded by jazz while in college and took to busking in the streets playing jazz flute. After two years at the University of California, San Diego, in 1987 she transferred to Oberlin College.

In 1990 a move to Chicago saw her playing once again on the streets and working for third World Press and meeting members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. Mitchell soon started playing with the all-women ensemble Samana under the AACM umbrella. Over the next several years she moved to New Orleans, became a mother, returned to school earning her BA and Masters, met and extensively began playing with Hamid Drake, then worked with saxophonist David Boykin prior to starting her group the Black Earth Ensemble” and co-hosting the Avant-Garde Jazz Jam Sessions in Chicago.

Releasing her debut album “Vision Quest” in 2001, she has been named “Rising Star” flautist for 2004 -2006 by Down Beat and by Down Beat International Critics Poll in 2010 & 2011. As an educator, Nicole has taught at Northern Illinois, Chicago State, Northeastern Illinois University, Wheaton College and the University of Illinois at Chicago; and has been co-president of the AACM since 2006.

More Posts: flute