Chicago Reader
By Peter Margasak
Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Orchestra 6:30pm Pritzker pavilion, Millennium Park, 100 N. Michigan 312-742-1168
The great Chicago flutist and composer (see this issue's cover story) premieres one of her most ambitious projects: a large-group suite called Many Paths Meet the Sea, inspired by the life and music of Alice Coltrane. The Black Earth Orchestra, an expanded 13-piece version of Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble, includes pianist Myra Melford, alto saxophonist Matana Roberts, and Mitchell's former Samana bandmate Maia on harp. If her recent suite inspired by black sci-fi writer Octavia Butler is any indication, she's mastered not only long-form composition but the ability to evoke her subjects in striking arrangements. Mitchell also plays with the Black Earth Strings and the Black Earth Ensemble at the Velvet Lounge on Friday and Saturday, August 3 and 4, respectively.