Blue Mitchell -

Blue Mitchell (March 13, 1930 — May 21, 1979) was an American post-bop/jazz-funk trumpeter from Miami. He emerged through 1950s work with Earl Bostic, Lou Donaldson, and Cannonball Adderley, then led Riverside albums including Big 6, Out of the Blue, and Blue Soul. Mitchell spent the 1960s with the Horace Silver Quintet on albums including Song for My Father and The Cape Verdean Blues, then led Blue Note sets such as The Thing to Do, Down with It!, and Bring It Home to Me.

Background

Richard Allen “Blue” Mitchell was born March 13, 1930, in Miami, Fla. Mitchell took up trumpet at age 17 in his high-school band, where he acquired the nickname Blue. He learned jazz fundamentals in a local group that included bassist Sam Jones. Mitchell also credited Miami trumpeter and bandleader Dick Smothers with shaping his concept of trumpet tone.

Mitchell played with a group near Tallahassee in 1948 and met brothers Cannonball and Nat Adderley. Sam Jones sent Mitchell a telegram in 1951 to join the touring orchestra led by saxophonist Paul Williams in Detroit. Mitchell entered a New York studio with Williams on July 25, 1951, for the Savoy titles “Rockin’ Chair Blues” and “Sinners’ Hop Part 1.”

In 1952, Mitchell joined alto saxophonist Earl Bostic for a three-year national tour. He also worked in R&B bands led by saxophonist Red Prysock and singer Chuck Willis. Mitchell joined alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson at WOR Studios on Nov. 19, 1952, for a Blue Note session with pianist Horace Silver, bassist Percy Heath, and drummer Art Blakey.

Mitchell returned to Miami after the Bostic engagement. Cannonball Adderley heard him again in Miami and recommended him to Riverside producer Orrin Keepnews, who signed the trumpeter. Adderley brought Mitchell into the Riverside session for Portrait of Cannonball on July 1, 1958, at Reeves Sound Studios in New York, one day ahead of the opening Big 6 session.

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