Blue Mitchell

Richard Allen "Blue" Mitchell (March 13, 1930 – May 21, 1979) was an American jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, rock and funk trumpeter and composer who recorded albums as leader and sideman for Riverside, Blue Note, and Mainstream Records.[1]

Blue Mitchell
Background information
Birth nameRichard Allen Mitchell
Born(1930-03-13)March 13, 1930
Miami, Florida, U.S.
DiedMay 21, 1979(1979-05-21) (aged 49)
Los Angeles, California] U.S.
GenresJazz, soul jazz
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsTrumpet
Years active1952 – 1979
Labels
Associated actsCannonball Adderley, Earl Bostic, Horace Silver, Paul Williams, Chuck Willis, Charlie Rouse, Wynton Kelly

Early life

Mitchell was born and raised in Miami, Florida. He began playing trumpet in high school, where he acquired his nickname, Blue.[1]

Career

After high school, he played in the rhythm and blues ensembles of Paul Williams, Earl Bostic, and Chuck Willis. After returning to Miami, he was discovered by Cannonball Adderley, with whom he recorded for Riverside Records in New York in 1958.

He then joined the Horace Silver Quintet, playing with tenor saxophonist Junior Cook, bassist Gene Taylor, and drummer Roy Brooks. Mitchell stayed with Silver's group until the band's break-up in 1964, after which he formed a group with members from the Silver quintet, substituting the young pianist Chick Corea for Silver and replacing Brooks, who had fallen ill, with drummer Al Foster. This group produced a number of records for Blue Note. It disbanded in 1969, after which Mitchell joined and toured with Ray Charles until 1971.

From 1971 to 1973 Mitchell performed with John Mayall, appearing on Jazz Blues Fusion and subsequent albums. From the mid-70s he recorded and worked as a session man in the genres noted previously, performed with the big band leaders Louie Bellson, Bill Holman, and Bill Berry and was the principal soloist for Tony Bennett and Lena Horne. Other band leaders Mitchell recorded with include Lou Donaldson, Grant Green, Philly Joe Jones, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley, Johnny Griffin, Al Cohn, Dexter Gordon, and Jimmy Smith.

Death

Mitchell performed with the Harold Land quintet up until his death from cancer on May 21, 1979, in Los Angeles, at the age of 49.[2]

Discography

As leader/co-leader
Year Title Label Notes
1958 Big 6 Riverside
1958 Get Those Elephants Out'a Here MetroJazz with Red Mitchell, Whitey Mitchell and André Previn
1959 Out of the Blue Riverside
1959 Blue Soul Riverside
1960 Blue's Moods Riverside
1961 Smooth as the Wind Riverside
1962 A Sure Thing Riverside
1962 The Cup Bearers Riverside
1963 Step Lightly Blue Note Released 1980
1964 The Thing to Do Blue Note
1965 Down with It! Blue Note
1966 Bring It Home to Me Blue Note
1966 Boss Horn Blue Note
1967 Heads Up! Blue Note
1968 Collision in Black Blue Note
1969 Bantu Village Blue Note
1971 Blue Mitchell (AKA Soul Village) Mainstream
1971 Vital Blue Mainstream
1972 Blues' Blues Mainstream
1973 The Last Tango = Blues Mainstream
1973 Graffiti Blues Mainstream
1974 Many Shades of Blue Mainstream
1975 Stratosonic Nuances RCA
1976 Funktion Junction RCA
1977 African Violet ABC Impulse!
1977 Mapenzi with Harold Land Concord Jazz
1977 Stablemates Candid
1977 Summer Soft Impulse!

As sideman
Year Leader Title Label
1952 Lou Donaldson Quartet/Quintet/Sextet Blue Note
1958 Cannonball Adderley Portrait of Cannonball Riverside
1959 Philly Joe Jones Drums Around the World Riverside
1959 Lou Donaldson The Time Is Right Blue Note
1959 Jackie McLean Jackie's Bag Blue Note
1959 Horace Silver Finger Poppin' Blue Note
1959 Horace Silver Blowin' the Blues Away Blue Note
1959 Philly Joe Jones Showcase Riverside
1960 Jimmy Smith Open House Blue Note
1960 Jimmy Smith Plain Talk Blue Note
1960 Horace Silver Horace-Scope Blue Note
1960 Charlie Rouse Takin' Care of Business Jazzland
1960 Sam Jones The Soul Society Riverside
1960 Bobby Timmons Soul Time Riverside
1960 Jackie McLean Capuchin Swing Blue Note
1960 Jackie McLean & Tina Brooks Street Singer Blue Note
1960 Tina Brooks Back to the Tracks Blue Note
1960 Sonny Red Breezing Jazzland
1961 Junior Cook Junior's Cookin' Jazzland
1961 Elmo Hope Homecoming! Riverside
1961 Sam Jones The Chant Riverside
1961 Philly Joe Jones and Elvin Jones Together! Atlantic
1961 Horace Silver Doin' the Thing Blue Note
1961 Les McCann Les McCann Ltd. in New York Pacific Jazz
1962 Horace Silver The Tokyo Blues Blue Note
1962 Sonny Red Images Jazzland
1962 Red Garland Red's Good Groove Jazzland
1962 Sonny Stitt Sonny Stitt & the Top Brass Atlantic
1962 Sam Jones Down Home Riverside
1963 Stanley Turrentine A Chip Off the Old Block Blue Note
1963 Harold Vick Steppin' Out! Blue Note
1963 Horace Silver Silver's Serenade Blue Note
1963 Freddie Roach Good Move! Blue Note
1964 Horace Silver Song for My Father Blue Note
1964 Stanley Turrentine In Memory Of Blue Note
1965 Big John Patton Oh Baby! Blue Note
1965 George Benson Benson Burner Columbia
1966 Stanley Turrentine Rough 'n' Tumble Blue Note
1966 Harold Vick The Caribbean Suite RCA Victor
1966 Richard "Groove" Holmes Soul Mist! Prestige
1966 Joe Zawinul Money in the Pocket Atlantic
1966 Stanley Turrentine The Spoiler Blue Note
1967 Lou Donaldson Mr. Shing-A-Ling Blue Note
1967 Stanley Turrentine A Bluish Bag Blue Note
1967 Hank Mobley Hi Voltage Blue Note
1967 Stanley Turrentine The Return of the Prodigal Son Blue Note
1968 Lou Donaldson Midnight Creeper Blue Note
1968 Cedar Walton Spectrum Prestige
1968 Jimmy McGriff The Worm Solid State
1968 Harold Mabern Rakin' and Scrapin' Prestige
1968 Don Patterson Opus De Don Prestige
1968 Yusef Lateef The Blue Yusef Lateef Atlantic
1968 Lou Donaldson Say It Loud! Blue Note
1968 Jimmy McGriff Step 1 Solid State
1969 Jimmy McGriff A Thing to Come By Solid State
1969 Cedar Walton The Electric Boogaloo Song Prestige
1969 Charles Kynard The Soul Brotherhood Prestige
1969 Jimmy McGriff Electric Funk Blue Note
1970 Ray Charles My Kind of Jazz Tangerine
1970 Lou Donaldson Everything I Play Is Funky Blue Note
1970 Grant Green Green Is Beautiful Blue Note
1970 Lou Donaldson Pretty Things Blue Note
1971 David "Fathead" Newman Captain Buckles Cotillion
1971 Stanley Turrentine The Sugar Man CTI
1972 John Mayall Jazz Blues Fusion Polydor
1972 Papa John Creach Filthy! Grunt
1973 John Mayall Moving On Polydor
1973 John Mayall Ten Years Are Gone Polydor
1974 Louie Bellson 150 MPH Concord
1975 Bobby Hutcherson Montara Blue Note
1975 Louis Bellson The Louis Bellson Explosion Pablo
1976 Al Cohn, Dexter Gordon True Blue Xanadu
1976 Al Cohn, Dexter Gordon Silver Blue Xanadu
1976 Dolo Coker Dolo! Xanadu
1976 Dolo Coker California Hard Xanadu
1976 Carmen McRae Can't Hide Love Blue Note
1976 Cedar Walton Beyond Mobius RCA
1977 Sam Jones Changes & Things Xanadu
1977 Sam Jones Something in Common Muse
1978 Philly Joe Jones Advance! Galaxy
1978 Philly Joe Jones Drum Song Galaxy

References
  1. Allmusic Biography
  2. Contemporary Black Biography, Volume 126. Gale Cengage Learning. 2015. pp. 115–116. ISBN 978-1-57302-425-9.
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