Blue Mitchell, another great unappreciated Jazz trumpeter is joined by an all-star cast of greats. This 1959 Hard Bop album was only Mitchell’s 2nd but first significant one because it featured the legendary Benny Golson and Art Blakey on drums. Golson added that unique soft flavor while Blakey pounding his distinctive signature beat. Its basically a mellow album for the Jazz Con Class listeners to enjoy in a comfortable atmosphere. It is only when Golson plays, that it picks up in volume but again, with that sweet tone which he and a few others (Coleman Hawkins, Johnny Hodges, Lester Young…etc) could only produce. “Out of the Blue” is a real classic that somehow got away. It will be featured for a week or so in its entirety, so don’t miss it! Check the schedule link for play times.
About the album:
Digitally remastered by Phil De Lancie (1991, Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California). This early recording by Blue Mitchell finds the distinctive trumpeter in excellent form in a quintet also featuring tenor saxophonist Benny Golson (who contributed “Blues on My Mind”), either Wynton Kelly or Cedar Walton on piano, Paul Chambers or Sam Jones on bass and drummer Art Blakey. The consistently swinging repertoire includes a surprisingly effective version of “When the Saints Go Marching In.” “Studio B,” recorded in the same period but formerly available only in a sampler, has been added to the program…..Read More
Biography of Blue Mitchell:
Owner of a direct, lightly swinging, somewhat plain-wrapped tone that fit right in with the Blue Note label’s hard bop ethos of the 1960s, Blue Mitchell tends to be overlooked today perhaps because he never really stood out vividly from the crowd, despite his undeniable talent. After learning the trumpet in high school — where he got his nickname — he started touring in the early ’50s with the R&B bands of Paul Williams, Earl Bostic, and Chuck Willis before returning to Miami and jazz. There, he attracted the attention of Cannonball Adderley, with whom he recorded for Riverside in 1958. That year, he joined the Horace Silver Quintet, with whom he played and recorded until the band’s breakup in March 1964, polishing his hard bop skills. During his Silver days, Mitchell worked with tenor Junior Cook, bassist Gene Taylor, drummer Roy Brooks, and various pianists as a separate unit and continued recording as a leader for Riverside……Read More
