Praise for Nicole Mitchell's 2017 album Mandorla Awakening II: Emerging Worlds -

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"Mandorla Awakening II underlines the powerful Afrofuturism to speak to our present reality"
- Steve Smith, The Wire (April 2017)

"A furiously inventive flutist, composer and improviser...Mitchell's album works through the anxieties of 2017 with a swirling, spiritually charged trip" - Chris Barton, The LA Times

 

​"​Nicole Mitchell is at the vanguard of the flute virtuoso continuum​" - NYC Jazz Record​

 

​"Mitchell's work over the past decade has been of a consistently high standard, but she excels herself on this new offering"​ - Jazzwise

 

​"Mandorla Awakening II is ambitious, adventuresome, defiant of genres and conventional wisdom and wildly dynamic. ​" - Britt Robson, Jazztimes​

​5 questions for Nicole Mitchell on I Care If You Listen​

 

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Visionary. Nicole Mitchell's flute calling has been the sine qua non of contemporary new music across America, if not the world in general. Coupled with a rigorously astute compositional aptitude and sheer ambition, (this year) has found her stardom soaring - pitched at the preface of an assure fame. Suffice it to say 'hard work' has paid off as nothing else can. —Lofton Emenari,What is This Thing Called Jazz

 

The most important jazz flutist of her generation. Mitchell proves herself an innovative composer, magnanimous band leader and compelling soloist. —Troy Collins, AllAboutJazz

 

Mitchell’s achievement lies in her coherent assemblage of diverse elements of musical information to draw novelty from familiarity. But then again Mitchell has shown herself to be more than capable of rising above stylistic clichés while staying rooted in the deepest traditions of black music. —Kevin Le Gendre, Jazzwise (England)

 

With elements of free-jazz, bebop, funk, Afro-Cuban, and classical it's hard to categorize Mitchell's music. One thing for certain, however, is the level of camaraderie between musicians, interpreting Mitchell's challenging, yet soulful compositions. —John Barron, All About Jazz

 

Few flutists can summon the variety of tones, textures, emotional realms and degrees of light from the instrument that Mitchell can. —David Whiteis, Jazz Times

 

Nicole Mitchell is the preeminent improvising flutist of her generation, adapting and extending the innovations of Eric Dolphy and James Newton. —Neil Tesser, Jazziz

 

Though everyone in jazz knows that Nicole Mitchell stands as one of the leading flutists in the world, in recent years she has emerged as a double threat, unveiling major compositions for ensembles large and small. —Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune

 

I've heard any number of modern and classical string quartets and ensembles. However I can honestly say I've never heard anything quite like Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Strings before. A fusion of classical, jazz, contemporary composition, avant-garde jazz, and traditional rhythms bound together by a spirit of adventure and a willingness to take chances make them one of the more exciting and interesting combos of musicians that you're liable to hear in any genre. — Richard Marcus, BlogCritics