Roscoe Mitchell is considered one of the key figures in avant-garde jazz, integrating influences from everywhere-world music, funk, rock, classical-to create music that is at once beautiful and complex. He has been involved with the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), a Chicago-based nonprofit organization founded in the mid-1960s to advance new creative music. Mitchell has performed on more than 85 recordings and written in excess of 250 compositions in the jazz and classical realms. He continues to pass down his musical knowledge of composition and improvisation, both in educational and performance settings. More information: www.arts.gov/honors/jazz/rosc...
Visit the National Endowment for the Arts’ Jazz Masters Fellowships section to learn more about the recipients of our nation’s highest honor in jazz: www.arts.gov/honors/jazz