Mr. Mitchell's innovation as a solo performer, his role in the resurrection of long neglected woodwind instruments of extreme register, and his reassertion of the composer into what has traditionally been an improvisational form have placed him at the forefront of contemporary music for over thirty years.

He is a founding member of the world reknowned Art Ensemble of Chicago, and the Association for the the Advancement of Creative Musicians.

Mr. Mitchell is the founder of the Creative Arts Collective of East Lansing, Michigan, The Sound Ensemble, Space, The Roscoe Mitchell Quartet, the Roscoe Mitchell New Chamber Ensemble, and Roscoe Mitchell and the Note Factory. His teaching credits include the University of Wisconsin, the University of Illinois and California Institute of the Arts, the AACM School of Music, the Creative Music Studio, and numerous workshops and artists-in-residence positions throughout the world.