BLUE MITCHELL
Genres: Hard Bop, Funk Jazz, Soul Jazz, Post Bop, Classic Fusion • United States

Blue Mitchell made his name as a member of Horace Silver's quintet, where his lyrical playing and beautiful timbre perfectly complemented Silver's simplified, soulful brand of bop. When Silver disbanded his group the members stayed together under Mitchell's leadership; Silver and Brooks were replaced by Chick Corea and Al Foster, whose places were later taken by Harold Mabern and Billy Higgins. Mitchell then returned to popular music, recording soul-jazz albums (1967-69) and touring with Ray Charles (1969-71) and the blues-rock bandleader John Mayall (1971-73). From 1974 he worked as a freelance in Los Angeles, and played as a principal soloist with Tony Bennett and Lena Horne. He also performed in the big bands of Louie Bellson, Bill Holman, and Bill Berry, and in bop groups, including a quintet with Richie Kamuca. During his final years he recorded a number of disco-jazz albums (1975-77) and played in a bop quintet with Harold read more...