Artifacts Trio: Tomeka Reid, Nicole Mitchell, Mike Reed
Nicole Mitchell flutes, Tomeka Reid cello, Mike Reed drums
The members of the Artifacts Trio are strongly connected the Chicago’s innovative jazz tradition. The trio consists of members of The Art Ensemble of Chicago, and The Association for the Advancement of Creative Music (AACM), a historically important Chicago arts organization. Their music both touches upon and advances the organization’s motto, Ancient to the Future, and celebrates African-American culture while reaching across genres and integrating new ideas into the legacy of jazz, experimentalism, and composition.
Nicole Mitchell is regarded as the leading flute player of her generation and has won many important jazz awards and Downbeat Critics Polls. She is renowned for her big, wide sound, but also for her adventurous spirit as a band leader and her strong imagination as a composer. Improvising cellist Tomeka Reid is one of the younger members of the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Drummer Mike Reed’s relationship with Amsterdam is particularly special, owing to his Indonesian-Dutch ancestry. Alongside well-known Chicago composers, he has recorded works by Dutch composers such as Guus Janssen, Sean Bergin, and Eric Boeren.