Nicole Mitchell’s Ice Crystal

She may have moved to sunny California, but flutist/composer Nicole Mitchell still plays with the fiery inventiveness of musicians forged in her native Windy City's creative pressure cooker. "Aqua Blue" opens the set with a multiple section, knottily phrased original; Mitchell swings like mad, empathetically buoyed by the killer rhythm section of bassist Joshua Abrams and drummer Frank Rosaly. Her melodic/harmonic foil is endlessly inventive vibist Jason Adasiewicz. On "Today, Today," the sound is thickened by Mitchell simultaneously singing harmonies with her flute lines. Mitchell's orchestration may be reminiscent of Eric Dolphy/Bobby Hutcherson, but her sound, with its round tone and graceful, fluid legato phrasing, more closely resembles fellow Chicagoan Joe Farrell. To add to the Dolphy connection, Adasiewicz gets a hard-hitting sound that echoes Hutcherson on Iron Man. Every one of these ten tracks is robust and will reward repeat listening.