Event Details
8:00pm.
Chamber Music America: A Night at Constellation
Experience an unforgettable evening of boundary-pushing jazz at Constellation as part of Chamber Music America's 2026 National Conference in Chicago. As the national network for ensemble music professionals, Chamber Music America brings together artists, composers, and industry leaders each year for inspiring performances, meaningful connections, and bold conversations about the future of the field.
This special concert at Constellation features three visionary ensembles: Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble, whose genre-defying music blends jazz, African diasporic traditions, and fearless improvisation; Andy Milne & Unison, celebrated for lyrical compositions and dynamic interplay rooted in contemporary jazz; and the Huu Bac Quintet, which fuses jazz with Vietnamese and Chinese musical traditions to create a richly global sound. Together, these acclaimed artists embody the creativity, innovation, and collaborative spirit at the heart of CMA's Conference. See more about the full event at cmachicago.vfairs.com and chambermusicamerica.org.
This concert is made possible with generous support of the Doris Duke Foundation.
Chamber Music America
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Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble
Portraits of Sonic Freedom
Nicole Mitchell flutes, composition
Ugochi Nwaogwugwu vocals, spoken word
Edwin Daugherty, alto sax
Kevin King, tenor sax
Julius Tucker, piano
Carmani Edwards, bass
Dushun Mosley, drum set
Nicole Mitchell is an award-winning creative flautist, conceptualist, and composer. Having emerged from Chicago's creative music community, she is the former first woman president of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), a Doris Duke Artist, and United States Artist. For over twenty years, Mitchell has utilized her art to create worlds that “bridge the familiar with the unknown,” with her Black Earth Ensemble. She also composes for contemporary ensembles of varied instrumentation and size (from solo to orchestra and big band) while incorporating improvisation and a wide range of aesthetic expressions. She is perhaps best known for her work as a creative flutist, having developed a unique improvisational language which has repeatedly awarded her “Top Flutist of the Year” by Downbeat Magazine's Critics Poll and the Jazz Journalists Association from 2010-2021. Much of Mitchell's creative process is informed by literature and narrative, with a special interest in science fiction. As a composer, she has been commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Music NOW, the French Ministry of Culture, the Fromm Music Foundation, Chamber Music America, International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Newport Jazz Festival, the Art Institute of Chicago, the French American Jazz Exchange, the Chicago Jazz Festival, and the Chicago Sinfonietta. Mitchell currently teaches at the University of Pittsburgh as the Williams S. Dietrich II Chair and Director of Jazz Studies.
Nicole Mitchell’s Black Earth Ensemble is a musical celebration of the African American cultural legacy that embraces the ancient past and paints visions of a positive future. The music is the weaving of swing, blues, avant-garde jazz, bebop, African rhythms, Eastern modes and Western classical sounds. The name “Black Earth” was chosen to honor the feminine source that our lives depend on – Mother Earth.
Program:
Portraits of Sonic Freedom
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Huu Bac Quintet
Composer and multi-instrumentalist Huu Bac Quach founded his quintet in Montreal, blending his Vietnamese and Chinese heritage with contemporary jazz. Supported by some of Montreal’s leading jazz musicians, he performs original compositions inspired by his travels throughout Asia, Europe, and South America. Audiences are captivated by his mastery of the dan bau, erhu, quena, and guitar. The Huu Bac Quintet creates a vibrant and authentic musical dialogue between Asian, North American, and South American cultures.
Personnel
- Huu Bac Quach: composer/leader/instrumentalist : dan bau, erhu, quena, guitar
- Omree Gal-Oz: piano
- Sébastien Pellerin: upright bass
- Geneviève Morasse: violin
- Patrick Simard: drums
Program – all works by Huu Bac Quach:
1) Whistling of the Trees
2) Noon on the Sea
3) A Night on the Ghaats
4) Mekong Waters
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Andy Milne and Unison
For more than 30 years, two-time Juno Award winning pianist/composer Andy Milne has demonstrated boundless versatility, collaborating with dancers, film makers, authors, visual artists, poets and musicians spanning multiple genres. With UNISON Milne returns to his first love, exploring the intimacy of the piano trio. The synchronistic relationship Milne enjoys with his bandmates represents the complimentary threads within the fabric of Milne’s piano trio philosophy -- the intersection of texture and groove. Unison’s 2024 Sunnyside Records release “Time Will Tell” was nominated for a 2025 Juno Award and was included on numerous “best of 2024” lists.
Personnel
- Andy Milne - piano
- Yoko Reikano Kimura - koto
- Ingrid Laubrock - tenor saxophone
- John Hebert - bass
- Clarence Penn - drums
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