Roscoe Mitchell

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Roscoe Mitchell
Background information
Born August 31, 1940
Origin Chicago, Illinois, US
Genre(s) jazz
Instrument(s) reeds
percussion
flute
saxophone
Years active 1960s — present
Associated
acts		 Art Ensemble of Chicago
The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians

Roscoe Mitchell (b. August 3, 1940 in Chicago, Illinois) is an African American composer and jazz instrumentalist, mostly known for being "a technically superb — if idiosyncratic — saxophonist."[1] He has been called "one of the key figures" in avant-garde jazz who has been "at the forefront of modern music" for the past thirty years.[2][3] He continues "to be a major figure."[1] He has even been called a "super musician"[4][3] and the New York Times has mentioned that he "qualifies as an iconoclast."[5]

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Early life

Mitchell grew up in the Chicago, Illinois area where he played saxophone and clarinet at around age twelve. His family was always involved in music with many different styles playing in the house when he was a child as well as having a secular music background. His brother, Norman, in particular was the one who introduced Mitchell to jazz.[6] While attending Inglewood High School in Chicago, he furthered his study of the clarinet.[7] In the 1950s, he joined the United States Army, during which time he was stationed in Heidelberg, Germany and played in a band with fellow saxophonists Albert Ayler and Rubin Cooper, the later of which Mitchell commented "took me under his wing and taught me a lot of stuff."[6] He also studied under the first clarinetist of the Heidelberg Symphony while in Germany.[6] Mitchell returned to the United States in the early 1960s, relocated to the Chicago area, and performed in a band with Wilson Junior College undergraduates Malachi Favors (bass), Joseph Jarman, Henry Threadgill, and Anthony Braxton (all saxophonists). Mitchell also studied with Muhal Richard Abrams and played in his band, the Muhal Richard Abrams' Experimental Band, starting in 1961.

[edit] AACM and the Art Ensemble of Chicago

In 1965, Mitchell was one of the first members of the non-profit organization Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) along with Jodie Christian (piano), Steve McCall (drums), and Phil Cohran (composer). The following year, the augmented AACM of Mitchell, Lester Bowie (trumpet), Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre (tenor saxophone), Favors, Lester Lashley (trombone), and Alvin Fiedler (drums), recorded their first studio album, Sound. The album was "a departure from the more extroverted work of the New York-based free jazz players" due in part to the band recording with "unorthodox devices" such as toys and bicycle horns.[1]

The group went through changes again in 1967 and 1969, both in name (changing first to the Roscoe Mitchell Art Ensemble, then the Art Ensemble, and finally the Art Ensemble of Chicago) and the players (inclusion of Phillip Wilson on drums for short span before he joined Paul Butterfield's band). This group and its incarnations would be regarded as becoming "possibly the most highly acclaimed jazz band" in the 1970s and 1980s.[1] The group lived and performed in Europe from 1969 to 1971, though they arrived without any percussionist after Wilson left. To fill the void, Mitchell commented that they "evolved into doing percussion ourselves."[6] The band did eventually get a percussionist, Don Moye, who Mitchell had played with before and was living in Europe at that time. For performances, the band often wore brilliant African costumes and painted their faces.[8]

[edit] Creative Arts Collective and beyond

Mitchell and the others returned to the States in 1971. After having been back in Chicago for three years, Mitchell then established the Creative Arts Collective (CAC) in 1974 that had a similar musical aesthetic to the AACM.[3] The group was based in East Lansing, Michigan and frequently used the facilities at the University of Michigan. Mitchell also formed the Sound Ensemble in the early 1970s, an "outgrowth of the CAC" in his words, that consisted mainly of Mitchell, Hugh Ragin, Jaribu Shahid, Tani Tabbal, and Spencer Barefield.[3]

In the 1990s, Mitchell started to experiment in classical music with such composers/artists such as Pauline Oliveros, Thomas Buckner, and Borah Bergman, the latter two of which formed a popular trio with Mitchell called Trio Space. Buckener also was part of another group with Mitchell and Gerald Oshita called Space in the late 1990s. He then conceived the Note Factory in 1992 with various old and new collaborators as another evolution of the Sound Ensemble. He currently lives in the area of Madison, Wisconsin[4] and has been performing with a re-assembled Art Ensemble of Chicago. In 1999, the band was hit hard with the death of Bowie, but Mitchell fought off the urge to recast his position in the group, stating simply "You can't do that" in an interview with Allaboutjazz.com editor-in-chief Fred Jung.[6] The band continued on despite the loss.

[edit] Recognition

The following are referenced from Mitchell's biography at the official AACM website.[9]

[edit] Awards

  • The International Jazz Critics Poll
  • Down Beat Magazine
    • "Talent Deserving Wider Recognition"
    • Best Jazz Group (Established) - Art Ensemble of Chicago
    • Record of the Year – Nonaah
  • Jazz Personality of the Year, City of Madison, Wisconsin
  • "Madison Music Legend" ("Madison" magazine)
  • Certificate of Appreciation (St. Louis Public Schools Role Model Experiences Program)
  • Honorary Citizen of Atlanta, Georgia
  • Outstanding Service to Jazz Education Award (National Association of Jazz Educators)
  • Certificate of Appreciation, Art Ensemble of Chicago (Smithsonian Institution)
  • National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's Image Award

[edit] Grants

[edit] Teaching

Mitchell has taught at various institutions throughout the United States, including the University of Illinois, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the California Institute of the Arts.[9]

[edit] Discography

  • 1966 Sound — Delmark Records
  • 1967 Old/Quartet — Nessa Records
  • 1968 Congliptious — Nessa
  • 1973 Solo Saxophone Concerts — Sackville
  • 1975 Quartet — Sackville
  • 1976 Nonaah — Nessa
  • 1977 Duets — Sackville
  • 1979 Sketches From Bamboo — Moers
  • 1980 Snurdy McGurdy and Her Dancin' Shoes — Nessa
  • 1981 3x4 Eye — Black Saint
  • 1983 Roscoe Mitchell and the Sound & Space Ensembles — Black Saint
  • 1984 An Interesting Breakfast Conversation — 1750 Arch
  • 1986 The Flow of Things — Black Saint
  • 1986 Live at the Muhle Hunziken — Cecma Records
  • 1987 Live at the Knitting Factory — Black Saint
  • 1988 Live in Detroit — Cecma
  • 1989 After Fallen Leaves — Silkheart Records
  • 1990 Duets & Solos — Black Saint
  • 1990 Songs in the Wind — Victo Records
  • 1992 This Dance Is for Steve McCall — Black Saint
  • 1992 Four Compositions — Lovely Music
  • 1994 Hey Donald — Delmark
  • 1994 Sound Songs — Delmark
  • 1994 First Meeting — Knitting Factory
  • 1994 Pilgrimage — Lovely Music
  • 1996 Day and the Night — Dizim
  • 1998 More Cutouts — Cecma
  • 1999 Nine to Get Ready — ECM
  • 1999 In Walked Buckner — Delmark
  • 2001 8 O'Clock: Two Improvisations — Mutable Music
  • 2002 Song for My Sister — Pi Recordings
  • 2004 Solo 3 — Mutable
  • 2005 Chicago Duos — First Look/Southport
  • 2005 Turn — Rogue Art
  • 2006 No Side Effects — Rogue Art
  • 2006 The Bad Guys — Around Jazz

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Chris Kelsey. Roscoe Mitchell at All Music Guide. Retrieved on December 29, 2006.
  2. ^ The Penguin Guide to Jazz by Richard Cook, Brian Morton, et al. pg 916 eigthth edition
  3. ^ a b c d Jack Gold (January 8, 2004). Roscoe Mitchell: In Search of the Super Musician. Retrieved on December 29, 2006.
  4. ^ a b Lazaro Vega (August 25, 2005). A conversation with Roscoe Mitchell. Retrieved on December 29, 2006.
  5. ^ Jazz: Roscoe Mitchell by Jon Pareles, New York Times, August 25, 1983
  6. ^ a b c d e Fred Jung. A Fireside Chat with Roscoe Mitchell (second). Retrieved on December 29, 2006.
  7. ^ Roscoe Mitchell: In Search of the Super Musician by Jack Gold, Allaboutjazz.com, October 23, 2003
  8. ^ Celeste Sunderland. Roscoe Mitchell: Opening Doors. Retrieved on December 29, 2006.
  9. ^ a b Roscoe Mitchell..... Composer, Multi-Instrumentalist, Educator. Retrieved on December 29, 2006.

[edit] External links

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