Nicole’s flutes

We were saddened to read in the Chicago Tribune today that two of Nicole Mitchell’s flutes were stolen on her recent European tour.

via Howard Reich @ Chicago Tribune
It’s one of the worst things that can happen to a musician – a prized instrument gets stolen.

For Chicago jazz flutist Nicole Mitchell, the news was doubly bad: Both her Muramatsu solid silver flute and Powell signature piccolo were grabbed while she was in Milan, playing the MITO Festival on Sept. 14.

“I was in a state of shock … I just couldn’t really believe it,” recalls Mitchell, one of Chicago’s most celebrated jazz musicians.

“For one thing, those instruments – I paid every penny for them, and it was a real sacrifice in order to get them,” adds Mitchell, 43.

She’s also offering a $1,000 reward for the return of her instruments, “no questions asked,” she says (the serial number on her Muramatsu flute is 94657).

Still, Mitchell is trying to make the best of it.

“I’m still hopeful that something good will come out of this, that there’s a bigger picture in all of this that maybe is not easy to see in the moment,” she says.

Contact Nicole at nicolemitchell.com if you have any info.