Roscoe Mitchell at Constellation

More catching up to do.....

Mitchell in flight on Sopranino

The night following the panel discussion at the Cultural Center the Roscoe Mitchell (Alto/Soprano/Sopranino Saxophones, Baroque(?) Flute) Mike Reed (Drums/Percussion) duo were at Constellation.  As I mentioned in the last post I had been listening to a bit of Mitchell lately so this was a concert not to be missed. 

Not quite a sell out - perhaps not quite as many as for the ICP Orchestra which I found a bit surprising with Mitchell's music being such an important part of the music to come out of Chicago I figured people would be beating down the doors to get in. All the same it was good to see people getting out on a less than pleasant evening (last night of snow for the season).
The set started out with a solo piece from Mitchell on alto sax. Starting with multiphonics and sustained quiet notes the piece grew in intensity as Mitchell added more and more notes to the mix.

Reed joined Mitchell for the rest of the set playing two long improvisations. The piece had Mitchell starting on flute before working his way through his saxes from high to low. At times he was alternating phrases on sopranino and soprano and finished off flying around the lower register of the alto at a burning tempo. The second duo started off with Reed playing solo. Mitchell entered playing simple melodies on alto - quite the contrast to the end of the last duo - reminded me of what he had to say at the panel discussion about studying opposites.

Whether he was using sticks, brushes, mallets, or what appeared to be an amplified tank drum, Reed's playing was superb throughout the evening.

Following the gig I only had to wait ten minutes for the snow to stop making waiting for the bus somewhat more pleasant.