Roscoe Mitchell (born August 3, 1940) is an American composer,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

instrumentalist, and educator, known for being "a technically superb – if idiosyncratic – saxophonist". ''

The Penguin Guide to Jazz ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled b ...

'' described him as "one of the key figures" in

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

jazz;''

'' by Richard Cook, Brian Morton, et al. p. 916, eighth edition All About Jazz stated in 2004 that he had been "at the forefront of modern music" for more than 35 years. Critic

Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' has mentioned that Mitchell "qualifies as an iconoclast". In addition to his own work as a bandleader, Mitchell is known for cofounding the

Art Ensemble of Chicago The Art Ensemble of Chicago is an avant-garde jazz group that grew out of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, AACM) in the late 1960s. The ensemble integrates many jaz ...

and the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians ( AACM).

History

Early life

Mitchell, who is

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, United States. He also grew up in the Chicago 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 Non-religious secular music and Religious music, sacred music were the two main genres of Western world, Western music during the Middle Ages and Renaissance music, Renaissance era. The oldest written examples of secular music are songs with Lat ...

background. His brother, Norman, in particular was the one who introduced Mitchell to jazz. While attending Englewood High School in Chicago, he furthered his study of the clarinet.'' Roscoe Mitchell: In Search of the Super Musician'' by Jack Gold, Allaboutjazz.com, October 23, 2003 In the 1950s, he joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, during which time he was stationed in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

, Germany and played in military parades with fellow saxophonists

Albert Ayler Albert Ayler (; July 13, 1936 – November 25, 1970) was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist and composer. After early experience playing rhythm and blues and bebop, Ayler began recording music during the free jazz era of the 1960s. Ho ...

and Rubin Cooper, the latter of whom, Mitchell commented, "took me under his wing and taught me a lot of stuff". He also studied under the first clarinetist of the Heidelberg Symphony while in Germany. 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 Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

), Joseph Jarman, Henry Threadgill, and

Anthony Braxton Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophones, particularly the alto. Braxton grew up on the South Side of Chi ...

(all saxophonists). Mitchell also studied with Muhal Richard Abrams and played in his band, the Muhal Richard Abrams' Experimental Band, starting in 1961.

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 The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) is an American nonprofit organization, founded in 1965 in Chicago by pianist Muhal Richard Abrams, pianist Jodie Christian, drummer Steve McCall, and composer Phil Cohran. The AA ...

(AACM), along with Jodie Christian (piano),

Steve McCall Stephen Harold McCall (born 15 October 1960) is an English retired footballer who now works as a scout for Carlisle United. A defensive midfielder during his playing days, McCall built a reputation as a cultured midfield player, with immacul ...

(drums), and

Phil Cohran Kelan Phil Cohran (May 8, 1927 June 28, 2017) was an American jazz musician. He was best known for playing trumpet in the Sun Ra Arkestra in Chicago from 1959 to 1961, and for his involvement in the foundation of the Association for the Advance ...

(composer). The following year Mitchell, Lester Bowie (trumpet), Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre (tenor saxophone), Favors, Lester Lashley (trombone), and Alvin Fielder (drums), recorded their first studio album, ''

Sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

''. 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. From 1967, Mitchell, Bowie, Favors and, on occasion, Jarman performed as the Roscoe Mitchell Art Ensemble, then the Art Ensemble, and finally in 1969 were billed as the

. The group included Phillip Wilson on drums for short span before he joined

Paul Butterfield Paul Vaughn Butterfield (December 17, 1942May 4, 1987) was an American blues harmonica player, singer, and bandleader. After early training as a Western concert flute, classical flautist, he developed an interest in blues harmonica. He explored ...

's band. 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". 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 costumes and painted their faces. The Art Ensemble of Chicago have been described as becoming "possibly the most highly acclaimed jazz band" in the 1970s and 1980s.

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. The group was based in

East Lansing, Michigan East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, although a small portion extends north into Clinton County. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 47,741. The city is located immediate ...

and frequently performed in auditoriums at Michigan State University. 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. In the 1990s, Mitchell started to experiment in

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

with such composers/artists such as Pauline Oliveros, Thomas Buckner, and Borah Bergman, the latter two of which formed a trio with Mitchell called Trio Space. Buckner was also 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 lived in the area of

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

and performed 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. The band continued on despite the loss. Mitchell has made a point of working with younger musicians in various ensembles and combinations, many of whom were not yet born when the first Art Ensemble recordings were made. Mainly from Chicago, these players include trumpeter Corey Wilkes, bassist Karl E. H. Seigfried, and drummer Isaiah Spencer. In 2007, Mitchell was named

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (, ; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His composition ...

Chair of Composition at

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University in Oakland, California is part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was relocated to Oakland in ...

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, where he currently lives. Mitchell was chosen by

Jeff Mangum Jeffrey Nye Mangum (born 24 October 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who gained prominence as the founder, songwriter, vocalist and guitarist of Neutral Milk Hotel, as well for his co-founding of The Elephant 6 Recording Comp ...

Neutral Milk Hotel Neutral Milk Hotel was an American band formed by Jeff Mangum in Ruston, Louisiana, in 1989. They were active until 1998, and then from 2013 to 2015. The band's music featured a deliberately low-quality sound, influenced by indie rock and psy ...

to perform at the

All Tomorrow's Parties "All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released as the band's debut single in 1966. The song is from their 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Inspiration for the so ...

festival in March 2012 in Minehead, England.

Teaching

Mitchell has taught at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

, the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

, and the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...

. From 2007 to 2019 Mitchell has taught at

in Oakland, California. Among his notable students is Dave Soldier.

Awards and honors

The following are referenced from Mitchell's biography at the official AACM website. Awards * ''DownBeat'' magazine: Talent Deserving Wider Recognition, Best Jazz Group (Established, Art Ensemble of Chicago), Record of the Year ('' Nonaah'') * Madison Music Legend, ''Madison'' magazine * Certificate of Appreciation, St. Louis Public Schools Role Model Experiences Program * Certificate of Appreciation, Art Ensemble of Chicago (

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

) * Honorary Citizen of Atlanta, Georgia * International Jazz Critics Poll * Jazz Personality of the Year, City of Madison, Wisconsin * Image Award, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People * Jazz Master, National Endowment for the Arts * Outstanding Service to Jazz Education Award, National Association of Jazz Educators Grants * Arts Midwest Jazz Masters * Comnicut Foundation * Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission Project Grant, Madison Committee for the Arts *

Foundation for Contemporary Arts The Foundation for Contemporary Arts (FCA), is a nonprofit based foundation in New York City that offers financial support and recognition to contemporary performing and visual artists through awards for artistic innovation and potential. It was ...

Grants to Artists Award (1996) * Institut de Recherche at Coordination Acoustique Musique, Paris, France * Madison Festival of the Lakes Grant * Meet the Composer, Cultural Series Grant, Center for International Performance and Exhibition, Chicago * Michigan State University matching grant * Minnesota Composer's Forum *

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

* Wisconsin Arts Board

Discography

With Art Ensemble of Chicago

Roscoe Mitchell and the Sound Ensemble

* '' Snurdy McGurdy and Her Dancin' Shoes'' (Nessa, 1981) * '' 3 x 4 Eye'' (

Black Saint Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italy, Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History ...

, 1981) * '' Roscoe Mitchell and the Sound and Space Ensembles'' (Black Saint, 1983) * '' Live at the Knitting Factory'' (

, 1987) * ''Live in Detroit'' (Cecma, 1988)

Roscoe Mitchell and the Space Ensemble

* ''New Music For Woodwinds and Voice'' ( 1750 Arch, 1981) * '' Roscoe Mitchell and the Sound and Space Ensembles'' (Black Saint, 1983) * ''An Interesting Breakfast Conversation'' ( 1750 Arch, 1984)

Roscoe Mitchell and the Note Factory

* '' This Dance Is for Steve McCall'' (Black Saint, 1993) * '' Nine to Get Ready'' ( ECM, 1999) * '' Song for My Sister'' ( Pi, 2002) * '' The Bad Guys'' (Around Jazz, 2003) * '' Far Side'' with The Note Factory (ECM, 2010)

Solo Albums

* '' Solo Saxophone Concerts'' ( Sackville, 1974) * '' Nonaah'' (Nessa, 1976) * '' L-R-G / The Maze / S II Examples'' (Nessa, 1978) * ''Live at the Muhle Hunziken'' (Cecma, 1986) * ''Duets & Solos'' (Black Saint, 1993) * ''Sound Songs'' (Delmark, 1997) * '' Solo ' (Mutable, 2004) * '' Dots/Pieces for Percussion and Woodwinds'' (Wide Hive, 2021)

Other ensembles

* '' Before There Was Sound'' ( Nessa, 1965; 2011) * ''

'' ( Delmark, 1966) * '' Roscoe Mitchell Quartet'' (Sackville, 1976) * '' Nonaah'' (Nessa, 1976) * '' Duets'' with

(Sackville, 1977) * '' L-R-G / The Maze / S II Examples'' (Nessa, 1978) * '' Sketches from Bamboo'' ( Moers Music, 1979) * ''More Cutouts'' (Cecma, 1981) * '' The Flow of Things'' (Black Saint, 1986) * ''Four Compositions'' (Lovely Music, 1987) * ''Songs in the Wind'' (Victo, 1991) * '' After Fallen Leaves'' ( Silkheart, 1992) * ''Duets & Solos'' (Black Saint, 1993) * ''The Italian Concert'' (with Borah Bergman) (Soul Note, 1994) * '' Hey Donald'' ( Delmark, 1995) * ''First Meeting'' ( Knitting Factory, 1995) * ''Pilgrimage'' (Lovely Music, 1995) * '' The Day and the Night'' (Dizim, 1997) * '' In Walked Buckner'' (Delmark, 1999) * '' 8 O'Clock: Two Improvisations'' (Mutable Music, 2001) * '' First Look, Chicago Duos'' (Southport, 2005) * '' Turn'' ( RogueArt, 2005) * '' No Side Effects'' (RogueArt, 2006) * '' Composition/Improvisation Nos. 1, 2 & 3'' with Evan Parker (ECM, 2007) * ''Contact'' (RogueArt, 2007) * ''

Spectrum A spectrum (: spectra or spectrums) is a set of related ideas, objects, or properties whose features overlap such that they blend to form a continuum. The word ''spectrum'' was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of co ...

'' (Mutable, 2010) * ''

Numbers A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The most basic examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...

'' (RogueArt, 2011) * '' Three Compositions'' with Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble (RogueArt, 2012) * '' Duets with Tyshawn Sorey and Special Guest Hugh Ragin'' ( Wide Hive, 2013) * '' Improvisations'' (Otoroku, 2013) with Tony Marsh and John Edwards * '' Conversations I'' (Wide Hive Records, 2014) with Craig Taborn and Kikanju Baku * '' Conversations II'' (Wide Hive Records, 2014) with Craig Taborn and Kikanju Baku * '' In Pursuit of Magic'' (482 Music, 2014) with Mike Reed * '' Angel City'' (RogueArt, 2014) Roscoe Mitchell Trio with James Fei & William Winant * '' Celebrating Fred Anderson'' (Nessa, 2015) * '' Four Ways'' (Nessa, 2017) with Yuganaut * '' Bells for the South Side'' (ECM, 2017) * ''Discussions'' (Wide Hive Records, 2017) * ''Accelerated Projection'' (RogueArt, 2018) with Matthew Shipp * ''Ride the Wind'' (Nessa, 2018) * ''Roscoe Mitchell Orchestra Littlefield Concert Hall Mills College'' (Wide Hive Records, 2019) * '' Flow States'' (ScienSonic, 2020) with Marshall Allen, Milford Graves, and Scott Robinson * '' Distant Radio Transmission'' (Wide Hive, 2020) * '' One Head Four People'' (Wide Hive, 2024)

As sideman

With

*'' Creative Orchestra Music 1976'' (Arista, 1976) *'' For Trio'' (Arista, 1978) With Jodie Christian *'' Rain or Shine'' (Delmark, 1994) *'' Soul Fountain'' (Delmark, 1998) With

Jack DeJohnette Jack DeJohnette (born August 9, 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. Known for his extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians including Charles Lloyd (jazz musician), Charles Lloyd, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, B ...

*'' Made in Chicago'' (ECM, 2013

015 015 may refer to: * 015, a telephone numbers in Malaysia, telephone number code in Malaysia * ''Global Underground 015'', DJ mix album by Darren Emerson * ''The Haunting of Tram Car 015'', 2019 novella by P. Djèlí Clark * JWH-015, chemical from t ...

with Muhal Richard Abrams, Larry Gray and Henry Threadgill With

Sunny Murray James Marcellus Arthur "Sunny" Murray (September 21, 1936 – December 7, 2017) was an American musician, and was one of the pioneers of the free jazz style of drumming. Biography Murray was born in Idabel, Oklahoma, where he was raised by an ...

*'' Sunshine'' (BYG, 1969) With Evan Parker *''

Boustrophedon Boustrophedon () is a style of writing in which alternate lines of writing are reversed, with letters also written in reverse, mirror-style. This is in contrast to modern European languages, where lines always begin on the same side, usually the l ...

'' (ECM, 2004) With Mike Reed's Loose Assembly *'' Empathetic Parts'' (482 Music, 2010) With

Matthew Shipp Matthew Shipp (born December 7, 1960) is an American avant-garde jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader. Early life and education Shipp was raised in Wilmington, Delaware. His mother was a friend of trumpeter Clifford Brown. He began playing ...

*'' 2-Z'' (2.13.61, 1996) With Alan Silva *''

Seasons A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

'' (BYG, 1971) With

Wadada Leo Smith Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith (born December 18, 1941) is an American trumpeter and composer, working primarily in the field of creative music. He was one of three finalists for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Music for ''Ten Freedom Summers'', released on ...

*'' Budding of a Rose'' (Moers Music, 1979)

References

External links

All About Jazz: Roscoe Mitchell: In Search of the Super Musician
Posted: 2004-01-08

by Jason Gross (May 1998)

Roscoe Mitchell Page at Wide Hive Records
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Roscoe 1940 births Living people African-American saxophonists Avant-garde jazz musicians American jazz composers American male jazz composers American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists American jazz oboists American male oboists Mills College faculty Art Ensemble of Chicago members Jazz musicians from Illinois Musicians from Chicago Pi Recordings artists Delmark Records artists Nessa Records artists 21st-century American saxophonists 21st-century American male musicians Sackville Records artists RogueArt artists ECM Records artists Black Saint/Soul Note artists Moers Music artists 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians NEA Jazz Masters