Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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MITCHELL, Red

(b Keith Moore Mitchell, 20 September 1927, NYC; d 8 November 1992) Bass, also piano and vocals. Played piano with Chubby Jackson, bass with Charlie Ventura, Woody Herman, Red Norvo, Gerry Mulligan, all '49-55; with Hampton Hawes '55-7, co-led quintet with Harold Land, worked with Hawes again, relocated to Sweden. A superb technician, his hornlike projection, five-string bass and tuning in fifths instead of fourths were influential. Albums as leader on Bethlehem '55, Pacific Jazz '60 with Jim Hall, Atlantic '61 with Land, also Presenting Red Mitchell '57 on Contemporary, later on Fantasy. Several European LPs included Meets Guido Manusardi '74 (pianist; also on Pausa in USA), Chocolate Cadillac '76 on Steeplechase, with Idrees Sulieman, Horace Parlan, others on Swedish Sonet, Caprice, Phontastic labels, etc; Empathy '80 on Gryphon with guitarist Joe Beck and solo When I'm Singing '82 on Enja were made in NYC; Holiday For Monica '83 on Phontastic had Parlan, Nisse Sandström on tenor, vocals by Monica Zetterland. Simple Isn't Easy '83 was a solo piano album on Sunnyside. Dragon CDs included Live In Stockholm '90 with pianist Roger Kellaway and tenor saxist Joakim Milder; gorgeous duo albums with Warne Marsh were on Fresh Sound and Steeplechase.

Red was also a poet. Diane Mitchell published a little book of his Selected Poems 1968-1992 in 1999. There was nothing very adventurous, but modest and charming for all that: "The greatest jazz player--who is he?/ You might want to niminate Dizzy/ He knows more notes than Greece has boats/ But somehow he never plays busy".

His brother Whitey (b Gordon B. Mitchell, 22 February 1932; d 16 January 2009) also played bass, made an LP on ABC '56 with a sextet including Steve Lacy. He became a successful comedy writer and film producer. He once had a card printed which said, 'Yes, I'm Red Mitchell's brother. No, I haven't seen him lately.'