How does one review a collection of profiles with interviews with a stellar cast of impeccable jazz musicians, each one a standout by themselves? Jazz in the New Millennium is an exploration into the minds of recent and current jazz masters that probably doubles as an impressive coffee table book, if you are one that needs to impress your friends and neighbors. It is also an impressive reference for scholars. I requested a review copy two years ago to utilize in my explorations of jazz in academic work, and I still plan on using it for that in some way. But I am late, this tome was released two years ago, and life has a tendency to make time pass faster than any of us would care to admit.
With so many artists profiled, it would be easy to get lost in the pages and pages of new and seasoned masters, but there is something I haven’t seen in similar books of this magnitude: women (as another reviewer pointed out) and playlists. Both are rare, and most jazz studies ignore the equally talented women who are pushing the art further into the twenty-first century. There is a playlist of recommended music for each artist at the back in a playlist section. The list consists of one track from each artist released after 2000, and the selections from the first edition are included. If you are adventurous, if you don’t already have these tracks and albums in your collection, it would take a little time to compile such a box set, and in the year 2026, there are several of us who are probably up to the challenge.
Mitchell has a unique history, which makes this book so interesting. He is a former popular music critic (also covering blues and country) with the Houston Chronicle, and he is also a former teacher and a radio programmer* now living in Portland, Oregon. The fact that he is also a musician, a drummer, helps him understand the territory he is traveling, like a musician. The uniqueness of this collection derives from his understanding as a musician and as a public figure who knows how to communicate clearly with the general public. He raps with the master behind each entry as a musical compatriot who understands the process and some of the challenges. He also immersed himself in the Houston artistic community. That is especially significant in his involvement writing the artist’ programs for DACAMERA (collaborators with Mitchell on this volume), where notable chamber music and jazz have been presented from 1987 to the present. This obviously helped to introduce him to the artists within these pages that has become a worthy snapshot into the minds of several jazz masters.
I am not certain how else to explore this wonderful book without overwhelming everyone with a PhD- length essay, but I did want to touch on a few things that Michell has accomplished from two sections to give y’all a taste.
Each profile is illustrated with several biographical highlights peppered with some revealing details throughout each profile. Charles Lloyd reveals that, “I knew that if I wanted to
survive I would have to get off the bus and work on myself from the inside out.” But he didn’t drop out completely. He worked on a few projects that would surprise those that believe practitioners of differing genres don’t play well together. “That’s Lloyd’s flute solo on “Feel Flows,” from the Beach Boys’ 1971 pop masterpiece, Surf’s Up.). The profile of Lloyd illustrates very clearly to me that the masters of jazz leave their influence and ideas in places that one wouldn’t expect, except those who follow jazz musicians closely. That has even been apparent with a few very well-known artists who passed decades ago when writers that I follow and read discover the most amazing and obscure details of their lives that, taken together with their complete biography, give us a more complete picture that wouldn’t exist without the diligence of a historical detective.
Even with the rising stars, Mitchell gives us a rounded picture of their journey and their struggles. Here, I want to underscore one more artist that I regrettably missed recently at the Atlanta Jazz Festival in May 2026 due to the irritating unpredictability of Georgia weather.
Esperanza Spaulding is a bassist, a vocalist, AND a songwriter, one who earned respect for both fairly early. Of the voice, she explains what may not be obvious to everyone. “The voice is a natural extension of the body. You conceptualize the sound you want to hear from each instrument, and then you practice to give yourself an independence in each one.” To put one master musician’s life and career into a perspective that the rest of us can understand. Musicians are made, few are fully born without practice and devotion to the craft, but some have a talent that needs to be nurtured before the mastery blooms. Even the spark of John Coltrane wasn’t born overnight. The way Spaulding explains her entry into music school at a young age should put this in perspective. “I was 16 and I had been playing the bass for a year and a half. Most of the cats in the program had at least eight years of training under their belts, and I was trying to play in these orchestras and do these Bach cello suites. It wasn’t really flying, but if nothing else, my teachers were saying, ‘OK, she does have talent.’”
Each profile is short but in depth look into the world and mind of a master in motion. My accolades only tickle the surface, and I want you to explore this for yourself. Please visit Mitchell’s website linked below to learn more about Mitchell, what he’s doing currently, and to grab a copy for yourself.
* From his website: “He currently produces a weekly one-hour radio show, also called Jazz in the New Millennium, that is syndicated by the African American Public Radio Consortium and airs on around 20 stations nationwide.”
RadioMike, 18 August 2026