Tribute concert evokes spirit of Alice Coltrane
REVIEW | Mitchell shines in showcase
August 11, 2007
BY JOHN LITWEILER
"Where Many Rivers Meet the Sea" is a sparkling suite that composer Nicole Mitchell debuted Thursday at Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. It was a tribute to pianist-harpist-guru Alice Coltrane by a crafty composer with a budding vision of what she wants to say and how to say it. Someday Mitchell may well create a masterpiece.
Meanwhile, this delightful concert by her Black Earth Orchestra, the third in this summer's "Made in Chicago: Home-Cooked Jazz" series, displayed her growing skills, along with hurdles she has yet to overcome.
The suite's seven parts were linked mainly by this band's unusual (for jazz) sound and for its recurring evocations of Alice Coltrane, who died in January and was the wife and bandmate of John Coltrane. Most evocative was the work of ex-Chicago pianist Myra Melford, herself a composer-performer of substance. She surely caught Alice Coltrane's spirit, swooping and trilling in rhapsodic solos and in grand, impressionistic accompaniments.
The suite's seven parts were linked mainly by this band's unusual (for jazz) sound and for its recurring evocations of Alice Coltrane, who died in January and was the wife and bandmate of John Coltrane. Most evocative was the work of ex-Chicago pianist Myra Melford, herself a composer-performer of substance. She surely caught Alice Coltrane's spirit, swooping and trilling in rhapsodic solos and in grand, impressionistic accompaniments.
The suite opened with long thundercloud chords and ended with three flutes and two violins playing a ringing melody. It included a poem and many themes, interludes and backgrounds from Mitchell's pen -- her composing is full of busy activity. The ingenious combination of flutes and strings in the lead roles gave this suite its bright sound. And the whole concert depended upon a rhythm section that swung with an irresistible tropic sway.
Mitchell's suite extended ideas of Chicago composer Phil Cohran, who weds jazz with African percussion exotica. Much of her material was riffs over modal settings. Recently in her flute improvising she created brilliant music that broke beyond the limitations of riffs and modes. I predict similar advances in her composing.
This time, Mitchell, an amazing flutist, offered only two little solos. Of this ensemble's 15 musicians, eight were women -- soon, that will not seem so unusual -- including two more ex-Chicagoans: Maia, who swung impressionist harp, and bold Matana Roberts, who played lyric alto sax with a singularly stark sound.
Among others, Tomeka Reid shaped a strong cello solo that began with low, off-center chords. Trumpeter David Young also tooted shennai, an Asian double-reed horn, and David Boykin floated rich tenor sax tones. Mitchell's knack for gathering colorful musicians is another of her special talents.
John Litweiler is a Chicago jazz critic and author.