Nicole Mitchell (musician) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nicole Mitchell
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Mitchell in 2022
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| Background information | |
| Born | February 17, 1967 Syracuse, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, teacher |
| Instruments | Flute |
| Associated acts | Black Earth Ensemble |
Nicole Mitchell, born on February 17, 1967, is an amazing American musician. She plays the flute and writes music (she's a composer). She teaches jazz music at the University of Virginia. She also used to lead a group called the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), which helps creative musicians.
Contents
Nicole Mitchell's Early Life and Learning
Nicole Mitchell was born in Syracuse, New York. When she was eight years old, her family moved to Anaheim, California. She started playing music early, learning the piano and viola in fourth grade. As a teenager, she learned to play the flute in a classical style. She even played in youth orchestras.
When she went to college, Nicole first planned to study computer science. But then she took a class about improvisation (making up music on the spot). This class was taught by Jimmy Cheatham at the University of California, San Diego. She loved it so much that she started playing jazz flute on the streets. After two years, she moved to Oberlin College in 1987. In 1990, she moved to Chicago.
Nicole went back to school later to finish her degrees. She earned her first degree from Chicago State University in 1998. Then, she got her master's degree from Northern Illinois University in 2000.
Nicole Mitchell's Music Career
In Chicago, Nicole Mitchell played music on the streets. She also worked for a company called Third World Press, which published books about African-American culture. During this time, she met other musicians like drummer Maia and bassist Shanta Nurullah. They formed an all-female music group called Samana. Nicole also joined the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM).
After getting her master's degree, Nicole started teaching music at different schools in Chicago. She taught at places like Northern Illinois University and the University of Illinois at Chicago.
In 1995, Nicole met drummer Hamid Drake and worked with him for several years. In 1997, saxophonist David Boykin encouraged her to start her own music group. This led Nicole to create the Black Earth Ensemble. In the early 2000s, she also helped host jazz jam sessions in Chicago.
First Albums and Collaborations
Nicole Mitchell released her first album, Vision Quest, in 2001. She released it with her Black Earth Ensemble on her own record label, Dreamtime Records. Famous musicians like Hamid Drake played on this album. Later, in 2003, Vision Quest was even turned into a theater show.
In 2006, Nicole worked with a group called Frequency. They released their album, Frequency, that same year. Starting in 2017, she began touring and recording with the famous Art Ensemble of Chicago.
Nicole also played in a trio called The Artifacts. The group included Tomeka Reid and Mike Reed. They released albums in 2015 and 2019. Interestingly, Nicole, Tomeka, and Mike were also leaders of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) from 2008 to 2009.
As of 2025, Nicole Mitchell still uses the names Black Earth and Black Earth Ensemble for many of her music projects. For example, in 2022, she led performances with Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth SWAY quartet. This group included Chicago musicians like Alexis Lombre on keyboard and JoVia Armstrong on drums.
In 2022, Nicole Mitchell also published her first book. It's called The Mandorla Letters: for the hopeful. She published it under the name Nicole Mitchell Gantt.
Teaching at Universities
Nicole Mitchell has also had a successful career as a university professor. She joined the music department at the University of California, Irvine as a professor. In 2019, she moved to the University of Pittsburgh to become a special professor of Jazz Studies. In 2022, she started a new job as a professor of music at the University of Virginia.
Awards and Honors
Nicole Mitchell has won many awards for her amazing music:
- Down Beat magazine, a famous jazz magazine, named her a "Rising Star" for flute many times from 2004 to 2009. From 2010 to 2022, she won the "top flutist" award every year!
- She received the Herb Alpert Award in the Arts in 2011.
- She won the Doris Duke Award in 2012.
- She was named a United States Artist in 2020.
Discography
As a Leader or Co-Leader
- Vision Quest (2001)
- Afrika Rising (2002)
- Hope, Future and Destiny (2004)
- Frequency (2006)
- Indigo Trio: Live in Montreal (2007)
- Black Unstoppable (2007)
- Xenogenesis Suite (2008)
- Anaya (2009)
- Renegades (2009)
- Emerald Hills (2010)
- Before After (2011)
- The Ethiopian Princess Meets the Tantric Priest (2011)
- Awakening (2011)
- Arc of O (2012)
- Three Compositions (2012)
- Aquarius (2013)
- Engraved in the Wind (2013)
- Intergalactic Beings (2014)
- The Secret Escapades of Velvet Anderson (2014)
- Artifacts (2015)
- Moments of Fatherhood (2016)
- Mandorla Awakening II - Emerging Worlds (2016)
- Liberation Narratives (2017)
- Maroon Cloud (2017)
- All Things Are (2019)
- Earthseed (2020)
- ...and then there's this (2021)
- Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Sway (2023)
As a Guest Musician
- Hamid Drake, Bindu (2005)
- The AACM Great Black Music Ensemble, At Umbria Jazz 2009 (2010)
- Joshua Abrams, Represencing (2012)
- Art Ensemble of Chicago, We Are On the Edge (2019)
- Art Ensemble of Chicago, The Sixth Decade: From Paris to Paris (2023)
