About

A man wearing glasses and a white shirt playing an acoustic guitar.

        Chicago-based guitarist and composer Donovan Mixon is a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) and a Resident Artist with the Jazz Institute of Chicago. He is the recipient of the 2025 Evanston Mayor’s Award for the Arts and the creator of Finding Center: A Sonic Memoir (2025), a deeply personal and expansive musical work.

Mixon performs with the AACM’s historic Great Black Music Ensemble, appearing at festivals and events including the Chicago Jazz Festival and Pitchfork Music Festival. In additon he conducts workshops in the historic AACM music school. Donovan is also a teaching artist for the Jazz Institute of Chicago in which he conducts workshops in Chicago public schools and currently serves on the adjunct faculty at Oakton College.

He is also the founder and curator of Donovan’s Garage, a monthly Chicago concert series and performance laboratory that has hosted more than 70 jazz musicians and continues to cultivate a growing, engaged audience.

A former Berklee College of Music professor and National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Composition grantee, Mixon spent nearly two decades performing and teaching in Europe and Turkey. He is the author of Performance Ear Training, an acclaimed book that reimagines how musicians develop listening skills and his fictionalized autobiographical novel Ahgottahandleonit published in 2017 by Cinco Puntos Press.

With Willie Pickens, James Perkins, Cory Biggerstaff & Jeremy Cunningham
A man playing an electric guitar outdoors, wearing glasses, a blue cap, and a light-colored shirt, with trees and tents in the background.
With Rich Armandi, Jeff Stitely & Robert Irving III
Great Black Music Ensemble with Wadada Leo Smith at Logan Center, Chicago.
At the Cultural Center.
With Ernie Adam & Joshua Ramos
2024 Black History Month Concert with Leon Q. Allen, Dushan Mosley, Darius Savage, Zahra Baker & Robert Irving III
Donovan and Jim Cox
A man wearing glasses and a cream-colored shirt playing an acoustic guitar.
Adam Zandolini, Donovan & Taalib-Din Ziyad
A jazz band performing in a dimly lit restaurant or bar with brick walls. The band includes a guitarist, a double bassist, a drummer, and a saxophonist. Several patrons are seated at tables, some watching the performance and one using a smartphone. T
Two musicians performing in a dimly lit venue, with one playing an electric guitar and the other on a keyboard.
Rehearsal with James Perkins, Jeremy Cunningham, Cory Biggerstaff & Amr Fahmy
Performance Ear Training Workshop for J.E.N. in New Orleans
At the 2024 Jen Conference in New Orleans
with Phil Castleberry, Mary Jo Papich & Willie Pickens
Photo by Michael Burns
A profile view of an elderly man wearing glasses, speaking or listening, with gray hair, dark suit, and a light shirt against a dark background.
A man in a suit with glasses and a colorful tie sitting on a black chair, holding an acoustic guitar, looking up at the camera, with a wooden floor in the background.
Group of people standing on stage after a concert, some wearing colorful clothing and hats, with a dark wall background at the Logan Center in Chicago.
L-R: Darius Savage, D.M., Isaiah Collier, Corey Wilkes & Reggie Nicholson
A smiling man wearing a patterned yellow and brown shirt, sunglasses, and a hat, holding a red hollow-body electric guitar and waving.
Three musicians performing in a dimly lit room: a man playing guitar, a woman singing, and a seated man in the background.
Three musicians performing in a room: a man playing guitar, a woman playing bongos, and another man at a keyboard.
A man with a beard playing an acoustic guitar at an outdoor event, with a music stand and another musician nearby.
A jazz band performing indoors with three musicians: a guitarist, a drummer, and a bassist, in a cozy room with framed pictures on the wall and a person in the foreground watching the performance.
Four musicians playing jazz instruments on stage: one with drums, one with an acoustic guitar, one with an upright bass, and one with an electric guitar.
A man holding a guitar with decorative rings around him, in a black and white photo.
Three musicians playing jazz instruments on a dimly lit stage, including a guitarist, a double bassist, and a pianist.
Four men standing outside Green Mill Cocktail Lounge, a bar with a green sign and large windows, at 4800.
Musicians performing on stage with a guitarist, bassist, and drummer, in a dimly lit venue.
A man wearing glasses, a black hat, and a patterned jacket, smiling while holding a semi-hollow electric guitar against a plain light-colored wall.
Black and white photo of a man playing an acoustic guitar, wearing glasses and a suit.
A band performing on stage with four members, playing guitar, double bass, drums, and saxophone, in front of a green-lit backdrop.
People gathered outside in a backyard during an evening social event, some sitting on chairs and others standing, with a lit indoor area in the background.
Four people standing outdoors at night, smiling at the camera. The first person is wearing a colorful Hawaiian shirt, the second person is in a green polo shirt and white cap, the third person is wearing glasses and a red shirt, and the fourth person
A band performs on stage with musicians playing string instruments and a keyboard, with a singer on the right, under stage lighting.
Man playing an electric guitar on stage in a dimly lit setting.
Four men standing together indoors, smiling and posing for the photo. They are casually dressed, with one wearing a colorful African-inspired shirt, another in a black jacket with a blue cap that says 'Chicago', and a third in dark clothing with drea
Man playing an acoustic guitar in a recording studio
Two musicians performing on stage, one playing an acoustic guitar and the other singing into a microphone.
Four musicians performing on stage at the Chet Baker Jazz Club, including a guitarist, a double bassist, a drummer, and a keyboard player.
Jazz band performing on stage with a mural of a person's face in the background. The band includes a drummer and a guitarist, with the guitarist seated and playing an electric guitar.
A printed announcement or flyer in Turkish about Donovan Mixon Quartet, mentioning the guitarist and music educator Donovan Mixon, and other musicians like Fabrizio Puglisi, Kürşat Arseven, and Cem Aksel. The flyer highlights jazz, melody, atmospheri
Four men standing together indoors, smiling, with a colorful abstract mural in the background.
Four men standing together indoors, smiling at the camera with warm lighting in the background.
Five musicians standing on an outdoor stage with musical instruments and equipment, city buildings in the background.
A man in a suit and glasses sitting on a wooden floor, holding and playing an acoustic guitar, looking up at the camera.
A man playing an acoustic guitar on stage, wearing a hat and glasses, with a dark background and stage lighting.
Four musicians playing instruments in a cozy indoor space, with paintings and photographs on the wall, including a photo of a man and a woman. The band includes a guitarist, a drummer, a double bass player, and a keyboardist.
A person playing an electric guitar in a room decorated with music photos and memorabilia, with the text 'Donovan's Garage' in bold yellow font.
A five-piece band performing outdoors on a stage with trees in the background. The band includes a guitarist, a bassist, a drummer, a keyboardist, and a saxophonist.
A jazz band performing on stage with seven musicians playing guitars, drums, double bass, and saxophone, accompanied by music stands and microphones, in a concert hall with a dark background.
A group of five musicians playing various instruments including drums, clarinet, upright bass, and violin, in an indoor setting near a large window with natural light.
Four men standing together inside a room, smiling. Behind them, a sign reads 'GOD IS LOVE'. Musical instruments and equipment are scattered around, indicating a performance or practice setting.
A diverse group of performers standing on stage after a performance, with audience members seated below taking photos.
A street musician playing a guitar and singing into a microphone outdoors in a city, with tall buildings in the background, wearing a hat and sunglasses.
Jazz band performing on stage at the Logan Center, Chicago, during a Jazz Institute Resident Artist Concert.
Five jazz musicians standing on stage with instruments, smiling, at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago with a red curtain background and venue sign.
Group of five men standing outdoors on a sunny day, some holding musical instruments, with trees and buildings in the background.
Two musicians performing on stage: one playing a saxophone, the other playing an electric guitar.
A jazz band performs for an audience in a classroom with white walls and a whiteboard. The band includes a bassist, drummer, and pianist, while the audience consists mostly of young adults seated and watching attentively.
A jazz band performing on stage with four musicians playing guitar, double bass, drums, and trumpet, with abstract digital art projected on a screen behind them.
Six men standing together, some holding musical instruments, smiling, in a room with stage equipment.