1. Roscoe Mitchell, who is African American, was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
16 Facts About Roscoe Mitchell
1. 2.
Roscoe Mitchell grew up in the Chicago area, where he played saxophone and clarinet at around age twelve.
3.
Roscoe Mitchell's 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.
4.
Roscoe Mitchell studied under the first clarinetist of the Heidelberg Symphony while in Germany.
5.
Roscoe 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, Joseph Jarman, Henry Threadgill, and Anthony Braxton.
6.
Roscoe Mitchell studied with Muhal Richard Abrams and played in his band, the Muhal Richard Abrams' Experimental Band, starting in 1961.
7.
In 1965, Roscoe Mitchell was one of the first members of the non-profit organization Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, along with Jodie Christian, Steve McCall, and Phil Cohran.
8.
The band did eventually get a percussionist, Don Moye, who Roscoe Mitchell had played with before and was living in Europe at that time.
9.
Roscoe Mitchell formed the Sound Ensemble in the early 1970s, an "outgrowth of the CAC" in his words, that consisted mainly of Roscoe Mitchell, Hugh Ragin, Jaribu Shahid, Tani Tabbal, and Spencer Barefield.
10.
Roscoe Mitchell then conceived the Note Factory in 1992 with various old and new collaborators as another evolution of the Sound Ensemble.
11.
Roscoe Mitchell lived in the area of Madison, Wisconsin and performed with a re-assembled Art Ensemble of Chicago.
12.
In 1999, the band was hit hard with the death of Bowie, but Roscoe Mitchell fought off the urge to recast his position in the group, stating simply "You can't do that" in an interview with Allaboutjazz.
13.
Roscoe 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.
14.
In 2007, Roscoe Mitchell was named Darius Milhaud Chair of Composition at Mills College in Oakland, California, where he currently lives.
15.
Roscoe Mitchell was chosen by Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in March 2012 in Minehead, England.
16.
From 2007 to 2019 Roscoe Mitchell has taught at Mills College in Oakland, California.