"Blue" Mitchell

Biography

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Biography

Discography

Transcriptions

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Born Richard Allen Mitchell in Miami on March 13, 1930, "Blue" Mitchell did not begin playing the trumpet until the age of 17, when he began playing in his high school band. Mitchell, exposed early on to the music of Dizzy Gillespie (and probably fellow Floridian Fats Navarro) credited Miami dance band trumpeter Dick Smothers with the concepts of lyrical tone and phrasing which was a hallmark of Mitchell's sound throughout his career. His early jazz fundamentals were honed with a young local group that included bassist Sam Jones; by 1948 he had joined a group which worked in the Tallahassee area, where he would meet future benefactor Julian "Cannonball" Adderley and his brother Nat.

In 1949 and 1950, Mitchell played with the Frank Brown orchestra; he then joined the Paul Williams band (Detroit?), and by late 1952 had moved to New York City, where he joined Earl Bostic's band (and met tenor saxophonist Benny Golson). Mitchell remained in New York until 1955, departing to tour briefly with the Sarah Vaughan/Al Hibbler road band, and then returning to the Miami area.

Mitchell was introduced to Orrin Keepnews and other executives at Riverside Records around 1958 by Cannonball Adderley, who featured him (along with Bill Evans) on his album Portrait of Cannonball. That same year, he joined the Horace Silver Quintet, with whom he remained until March, 1964; during this period, Mitchell continued to record several excellent albums as a leader for Riverside. After Silver's band closed shop, Mitchell recorded a string of excellent albums for Blue Note (featuring, amongst others, Al Foster and a young Chick Corea) through 1969.

From 1969 to 1971, Mitchell toured and recorded with the Ray Charles Orchestra; from 1971 to 1973, he was touring and recording with blues/rock guitarist John Mayall. By this time he had settled in Los Angeles, where he would freelance regularly with big band leaders such as Louis Bellson, Bill Holman, and Bill Berry, and served as principle soloist for vocalists Lena Horne and Tony Bennett in the late 1970s. He also co-led a post-bop group with Harold Land until his untimely death in Los Angeles on May 21, 1979, at age 49, from cancer.

Equipment: Martin Commitee (1958, 1960 recordings), Conn Connstellation, Olds Super or Olds Studio (1967 Blue Note recordings)

Sources: Liner notes, Big Six; The All-Music Guide.