Nicole is a composer, improviser, virtuoso flutist who incorporates her woman’s voice, Nicole transcends the boundaries of swing, free and modal jazz, blues, avant-garde, bebop, new music and non-melodic experimentation. She collaborates with choreographers, filmmakers and visual artists, is the bandleader and founder of multiple ensembles, and the former first woman president of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians.

Nicole is also the founder of the critically acclaimed Black Earth Ensemble and Black Earth Strings. Nicole’s compositions reach across sound worlds, integrating new ideas with moments in the legacy of jazz, gospel, pop, and African percussion to create a fascinating synthesis of “postmodern jazz.” With her ensembles, as a featured flutist, and as a music educator, Mitchell has been a highlight at art venues, festivals throughout Europe, the U.S. and Canada.