Editing Roscoe Mitchell (section)

== History ==
=== Early life ===
Mitchell, who is [[African Americans|African American]], was born in [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], United States.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> He also grew up in the Chicago area, where he played saxophone and clarinet at around age twelve.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> 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.<ref name="AAJ2">{{cite web|url= http://www.jazzweekly.com/interviews/mitchell.htm|title= A Fireside Chat with Roscoe Mitchell (second)|author=Fred Jung|access-date=December 29, 2006}}</ref> While attending Englewood High School in Chicago, he furthered his study of the clarinet.<ref name="AAJ3">'' Roscoe Mitchell: In Search of the Super Musician'' by Jack Gold, Allaboutjazz.com, October 23, 2003</ref> In the 1950s, he joined the [[United States Army]], during which time he was stationed in [[Heidelberg]], Germany and played in military parades with fellow saxophonists [[Albert Ayler]] and [[Rubin Cooper]], the latter of whom, Mitchell commented, "took me under his wing and taught me a lot of stuff".<ref name="AAJ2"/> He also studied under the first clarinetist of the Heidelberg Symphony while in Germany.<ref name="AAJ2"/> 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 guitar|bass]]), [[Joseph Jarman]], [[Henry Threadgill]], and [[Anthony Braxton]] (all saxophonists).<ref name="LarkinGE"/> Mitchell also studied with [[Muhal Richard Abrams]] and played in his band, the Muhal Richard Abrams' Experimental Band, starting in 1961.<ref name="LarkinGE"/>

=== 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),<ref name="LarkinGE"/> along with [[Jodie Christian]] (piano), [[Steve McCall (drummer)|Steve McCall]] (drums), and [[Phil Cohran]] (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 (Roscoe Mitchell album)|Sound]]''.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> 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.<ref name="AMG"/>

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 [[Art Ensemble of Chicago]].<ref name="LarkinGE"/> The group included [[Phillip Wilson (drummer)|Phillip Wilson]] on drums for short span before he joined [[Paul Butterfield]]'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".<ref name="AAJ2"/> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/review_print.php?id=2110|archive-url= https://archive.today/20120716232546/http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/review_print.php?id=2110|url-status= dead|archive-date= July 16, 2012|title= Roscoe Mitchell: Opening Doors|author= Celeste Sunderland|access-date= December 29, 2006}}</ref> The Art Ensemble of Chicago have been described as becoming "possibly the most highly acclaimed jazz band" in the 1970s and 1980s.<ref name="AMG"/>

=== Creative Arts Collective and beyond ===
[[File:Roscoe-Mitchell-06n4895.jpg|thumb|left|Mitchell at the [[Moers Festival]], 2009]]
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.<ref name="AAJ1">{{cite web|url= http://www.jazzweekly.com/interviews/rmitchell.htm|title= A Fireside Chat with Roscoe Mitchell (first)|author=Fred Jung|date=September 2, 2002|access-date=December 29, 2006}}</ref> The group was based in [[East Lansing, Michigan]] 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]].<ref name="AAJ1"/>

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 trio with Mitchell called [[Trio Space]].<ref name="LarkinGE"/> 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]]<ref name="JazzinChicago">{{cite web|url= http://www.jazzinchicago.org/Internal/Articles/tabid/43/ctl/ArticleView/mid/522/articleId/416/AconversationwithRoscoeMitchell.aspx|title= A conversation with Roscoe Mitchell|author= Lazaro Vega|date=August 25, 2005|access-date=December 29, 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060813212422/http://www.jazzinchicago.org/Internal/Articles/tabid/43/ctl/ArticleView/mid/522/articleId/416/AconversationwithRoscoeMitchell.aspx <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = August 13, 2006}}</ref> 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.<ref name="AAJ2"/> 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]] Chair of Composition at [[Mills College]] in [[Oakland, California]], where he currently lives.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mills.edu/news/2007/newsarticle07032007roscoe_mitchell_milhaud_chair.php|title=Roscoe Mitchell Named Darius Milhaud Chair In Composition At Mills College|access-date=March 31, 2008}}</ref> Mitchell was chosen by [[Jeff Mangum]] of [[Neutral Milk Hotel]] to perform at the [[All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)|All Tomorrow's Parties]] festival in March 2012 in Minehead, England.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atpfestival.com/events/jeffmangum.php |title=ATP curated by Jeff Mangum (Neutral Milk Hotel) - All Tomorrow's Parties |website=Atpfestival.com |access-date=July 9, 2017}}</ref>

=== Teaching ===
Mitchell has taught at the [[University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign|University of Illinois]], the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]], and the [[California Institute of the Arts]].<ref name="AACM">{{cite web|url= http://aacm-newyork.com/Biographies/Roscoe%20Mitchell%20Bio.html|title= Roscoe Mitchell..... Composer, Multi-Instrumentalist, Educator|access-date=December 29, 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070730030611/http://aacm-newyork.com/Biographies/Roscoe%20Mitchell%20Bio.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = July 30, 2007}}</ref> From 2007 to 2019 Mitchell has taught at [[Mills College]] in Oakland, California.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mills.edu/academics/faculty/mus/rmitchell/rmitchell.php |title=Mills College - Roscoe Mitchell |website=Mills.edu |access-date=July 9, 2017}}</ref> Among his notable students is [[Dave Soldier]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/04/03/david-sulzer-profile-neuroscience-music |title=The Wild World of Music |first=Burkhard |last=Bilger |date=March 27, 2023 |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=April 18, 2023}}</ref>