Jazz Articles about Blue Mitchell

Blue Mitchell: Stablemates

by Chris May
February 9, 2006

A luminous chunk of late-period Blue Mitchell--remarkably, on CD for the first time--Stablemates was recorded in '77 in Los Angeles. It stacks up well against the trumpeter's fine work for Riverside and Blue Note in the late '50s and '60s.

By '77, after the punishing decade-long combination punch of acid rock, funk and emergent disco, the market for live straight-ahead small-group jazz was on the ropes. Big bands and MOR singers still had a niche, and Mitchell--a superb technician as ...

Lou Donaldson: Say It Loud!

by Germein Linares
June 24, 2005

Lou Donaldson's Say It Loud! is finally on CD. Recorded for Blue Note in '69, this is one of several late-'60s albums by the legendary alto saxophonist that tend to get little respect. That's too bad, really. Apart from sporting a very capable band in trumpeter Blue Mitchell, guitarist Jimmy Ponder, organist Charles Earland and drummer Leo Morris, the five selections on Say It Loud! are undeniably fun.True, there aren't great answers on God or the circle of ...

Blue Mitchell: The Thing To Do

by Norman Weinstein
July 13, 2004

Trumpeter Blue Mitchell had a sound in every way as individual as his label-mates Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan, and like them, tragically, he could misuse studio time recording uninspired bop and funk. The Thing To Do makes you wish Mitchell had been this focused and well accompanied more of the time.Blessed with a lyrically brassy tone imbued with a shade of vulnerability perfect for ballads, Mitchell absolutely reveals a confidence and zest in this finely programmed set. ...

Blue Mitchell

by Robert Spencer
March 8, 2004

All About Jazz contributing writer C. Andrew Hovan said it best: “Those of you that are longtime jazz fans, take a few minutes and see how many jazz trumpeters you can name in the next minute. All done? I'm sure many of you remember Miles Davis, Lee Morgan, Louis Armstrong, and Buck Clayton, just to name a few. Now, how many of you mentioned the name of Blue Mitchell? This trumpeter's greatest success came during his memorable stay with the ...

Blue Mitchell: The Complete Blue Note Blue Mitchell Sessions: 1963-1967

by C. Andrew Hovan
July 1, 1999

Those of you that are longtime jazz fans, take a few minutes and see how many jazz trumpeters you can name in the next minute. All done? I'm sure many of you remember Miles Davis, Lee Morgan, Louis Armstrong, and Buck Clayton, just to name a few. Now, how many of you mentioned the name of Blue Mitchell? This trumpeter's greatest success came during his memorable stay with the Horace Silver Quintet during the early '60s, however his first dates ...