Blue Mitchell

troutboy · « **on:** 12 Feb 2011, 12:14 pm »

I recently bought a Horace Silver Best of disc and have been enjoying the wonderful sound of trumpeter Blue Mitchell. Any recommendations for some other better recordings i can find more of his playing on? Thanks for any info.

ZLS · « **Reply #1 on:** 12 Feb 2011, 12:37 pm »

Out Of The Blue

http://www.amazon.com/Out-Blue-Mitchell/dp/B000000YVQ/ref=sr_1_8?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1297514145&sr=1-8

wharfrat · « **Reply #2 on:** 12 Feb 2011, 12:48 pm »

I have these two with Blue and enjoy his work on them.

John Mayall's "Jazz Blues Fusion"
Dexter Gordon "True Blue"

neobop · « **Reply #3 on:** 12 Feb 2011, 12:53 pm »

The Thing To Do
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002A2VP0/ref=s9_simh_bw_p15_d0_i3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1FY4E4T6R8SZ1QH5CA9K&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1280261722&pf_rd_i=5174

In the mid '60s Blue made 5 or 6 records for Blue Note. Most with Chick Corea, one with Herbie. He made quite a few as a sideman too. He was a good player. You hear him a lot with Junior Cook. There's one or two with Joe Henderson.

Mightyburner · « **Reply #4 on:** 12 Feb 2011, 02:27 pm »

This a great recording IMHO.

richidoo · « **Reply #5 on:** 12 Feb 2011, 04:14 pm »

Horace Silver's Live at the Village Gate is my fav. Blue Mitchell recording, he is on fire there.
He also recorded with Louis Bellson big band in the 70s.

jazzcourier · « **Reply #6 on:** 12 Feb 2011, 06:42 pm »

The wonderfully talented late trumpeter Richard" Blue" Mitchell was really one of the great unsung masters of Jazz trumpet.He was a constant on the L.A. Jazz club scene in the 1970's.I had the great fortune to hear him in many contexts during this period and he always brought it big time.He was a fiery and passionate player with a flawless technique that would allow him to go anywhere musically he desired.He had a fantastic quintet with saxophonist Richie Kamuca that played every Wednesday night at Donte's in North Hollywood.This is when you could walk in the back door,order a beer and sit or stand at the bar all night for the price of a few beers and dig the music. No cover charge! This band featured Richie on the alto saxophone(as opposed to his usual tenor) Blue on trumpet,Dolo Coker on piano,Leroy Vinnegar on bass and Jimmie Smith on bass.The entire book of this band was made up of BeBop tunes and primarily Charlie Parker compositions.The music was so fresh and inspiring it became our must-hear destination every week.by the last set,when the place was thinning out you could slip up front to the vacant tables and sit a few feet from Blue's trumpet.This band made one record for Concord under Richie's name- "Richie Kamuca's Charlie" doing mainly Bird tunes with a different rhythm and Jimmy Rowles on piano.
Blue Mitchell also had a quintet with Tenor player Harold Land that was more like the Max Roach/Clifford Brown quintet.They always seemed to have a gig every few weeks and worked more at some of the inner city clubs like the Parisian Room.You could also hear Blue in the big band that was led by ex- Ellington
trumpeter Bill Berry.This was a great band that had Herb Ellis,Dave Frishberg,Kamuca,Blue,Bob Cooper,Buster Cooper,Britt Woodman,Cat Anderson,Marshal Royal, and many others who came in and out as they had the time to devote to this band playing Basie and many old Ellington charts.Blue's big feature was a luminous reading of "Smoke gets in your eyes",his trumpet soaring with a warm,clean tone,rich with passion.I think it was 1976 or '77 both Blue and Richie died within six months of each other from Cancer.The last time i saw Blue was buying a pack of smokes out of the machine at Cindy's coffee shop on Lankershim blvd. in Universal City at about 3 am.I was in a hurry to get back to my radio gig across the street,as i left a record tracking to go get some coffee.I shouted a hello to him and got a warm,friendly smile back and he was gone from our world in a month's time.
Before he hit the L.A. studios.clubs and TV show gigs he had already established his reputation with all those great Riverside records and his tenure with Horace Silver.His last 10 years of his life are not that well known but were filled with great music every time he put the horn to his mouth.
One day they will re-release the Berry big band lp,"Hot and happy" and you can hear the great "Smoke get's in your eyes" It will bring tears to yours.

troutboy · « **Reply #7 on:** 13 Feb 2011, 12:34 am »

Wow, guys great info. Thanks for all the replies.
JC, great info and i know you count yourself fortunate to have heard such a fantastic musician live. I know i can listen to Peace from the Horace Silver cd over and over with amazement at his tone each time i hear it. Such a distinctive sound that he reminds me somewhat of the sound of Clifford Brown. Truly a fantastic musician.

etcarroll · « **Reply #8 on:** 13 Feb 2011, 02:16 am »

Wow JC, great biographical background.

I was going to Princeton Record Exchange today because they emailed they just got a big collection of '50s and '60s jazz CDs for sale for cheap in so I added the name Blue Mitchell to my list.

None of his work in the collection, but I did find "Out Of The Blue" and "The Thing To Do" in the "M" section of the Jazz CDs. Thanks for the 'heads-up' on this artist.

Gene

Art_Chicago · « **Reply #9 on:** 13 Feb 2011, 02:28 am »

I ordered "The thing to do" from amazon (importcds) today for about 6 bucks plus S$H. Seems like a very good deal. Thanks for the recommendation!

troutboy · « **Reply #10 on:** 26 Feb 2011, 01:32 pm »

I picked up Blue's Moods, The Thing to Do, and a couple of others. Great recommendations. They have been in my cd player continuously since i received them. Another one not mentioned is Blue Soul The Keepnews Collection that is excellent also. Thanks for all the input.

Hear Clifford Brown · « **Reply #11 on:** 1 Mar 2011, 04:51 am »

Here's some recommendations. I knew he recorded a lot but when looking it up it's really extensive. These are ones I have that are great.

With Horace Silver
Blowin' the Blues Away (1959)
Finger Poppin' With the Horace Silver Quintet (1959)
Doin' the Thing (At the Village Gate) (1961)
Song for My Father (1964)

With Tina Brooks
Back to the Tracks (1960)

With Grant Green
Green Is Beautiful (1970)

With Johnny Griffin
Little Giant (1959)

With Bobby Hutcherson
Montara (1975)

With Jackie McLean
Jackie's Bag (1959)
Capuchin Swing (1960)

With Harold Land
Mapenzi (1977)

With Louis Bellson
Louie Bellson's 7 (1976)

jimdgoulding · « **Reply #12 on:** 1 Mar 2011, 05:03 am »

HCB- That's Horace Silver Quintet at The Village Gate. The Tokyo Blues is another HSQ with Blue and Junior Cook and a personal favorite. I also have Mapenzi with Harold Land and like it, too.

Hear Clifford Brown · « **Reply #13 on:** 1 Mar 2011, 06:15 am »

Good catch Jim thanks

jimdgoulding · « **Reply #14 on:** 1 Mar 2011, 12:14 pm »

We scholars

gotta stick together.

Hear Clifford Brown · « **Reply #15 on:** 2 Mar 2011, 03:52 am »

Jim, being a scholar you might enjoy this Horace Silver autobiography. Actually anyone with an interest in jazz will enjoy it - the reminiscences are great.

http://www.amazon.com/Lets-Get-Nitty-Gritty-Autobiography/dp/0520253922/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1299037681&sr=1-3-fkmr0

jimdgoulding · « **Reply #16 on:** 2 Mar 2011, 04:53 am »

Thanks for thinking of me, jazz cat. I am reminded that my wife and I caught Horace with a sextet(!) at Keystone Korner in San Francisco. Got nuthin but respect for the man. Sorry, but I didn't recognize the other players. This was post Mitchell and Cook.

Got a tune for you. This was made back in the day but never released til Michael Cuscana rescued it from the Blue Note vaults . . Top Cat, Lee Morgan. McCoy Tyner on piano, Jackie McLean on alto, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Art Blakey, etc. Tyner was Coltrane's pianist then. Who knew at the time he could bop. Great date.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #17 on:** 2 Mar 2011, 05:17 am »

Link.....Blue Mitchell AllMusic Info...

Hear Clifford Brown · « **Reply #18 on:** 2 Mar 2011, 06:33 am »

Jim, this one?

Tom Cat
Lee Morgan
Release Date
Aug 11, 1964
Recording Date
Aug 11, 1964
Label
Blue Note
Review
by Scott Yanow
It seems strange that the music on this CD was not released initially until 1980. Trumpeter Lee Morgan had had an unexpected hit with "The Sidewinder," so his more challenging recordings were temporarily put aside. As it turns out, this was one of Morgan's better sets from the 1960s and he had gathered together quite an all-star cast: altoist Jackie McLean, trombonist Curtis Fuller, pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Bob Cranshaw, and drummer Art Blakey. They perform "Rigormortis," McCoy Tyner's "Twilight Mist," and three of the trumpeter's originals, including the title cut. The advanced hard bop music still sounds fresh decades later despite its initial neglect.

Listen to Samples

Very good, didn't know about it.

jimdgoulding · « **Reply #19 on:** 2 Mar 2011, 11:57 am »

Dat's da one.