About

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.

Of trumpeter Blue Mitchell's seven Riverside recordings, only this set along with three numbers on Blue Soul — feature Mitchell as the only horn. Joined by pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Roy Brooks, the trumpeter is typically distinctive, swinging, and inventive within the hard bop genre. He performs four standards, plus Ronnell Bright's "Sweet Pumpkin," the obscure "Avars," and a pair of originals in fine fashion. — via AllMusic

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Label: Craft Recordings, Riverside Records
Series: Original Jazz Classics
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Stereo, 180g
Reissued: 2024 / Original Release: 1960
Genre: Jazz
Style: Hard Bop

File under: Audiophile Jazz
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