Red Mitchell


Keith Moore "Red" Mitchell, was an American jazz double-bassist, composer, lyricist, and poet.

Biography

Mitchell was born on September 20, 1927, in New York City. His younger brother, Whitey Mitchell, also became a jazz bassist.
Mitchell was raised in New Jersey by a father who was an engineer and loved music, and a mother who loved poetry. His first instruments were piano, alto saxophone, and clarinet. Although Cornell University awarded him an engineering scholarship, by 1947 he was in the US Army playing bass. The next year he was in a jazz trio in New York City.
Mitchell performed and/or recorded with Mundell Lowe, Chubby Jackson, Charlie Ventura, Woody Herman, Red Norvo, Gerry Mulligan, and, after joining the West Coast jazz scene in the early 1950s, with André Previn, Shelly Manne, Hampton Hawes, Billie Holiday, Stan Seltzer, Ornette Coleman, and others such as Mahalia Jackson. He also worked as a bassist in the TV and film studios around Los Angeles, occasionally appearing on screen. Mitchell also appeared in documentaries about Tal Farlow and Zoot Sims.
Saxophonist Harold Land and Mitchell founded and co-led a quintet in the early 1960s.
Mitchell moved to Stockholm in 1968. He won Sweden's Grammis Award in 1986 and again in 1991 for his recorded performances as a pianist, bassist, and vocalist, and for his compositions and poetic song lyrics.
During this period, Mitchell performed and/or recorded with Clark Terry, Lee Konitz, Herb Ellis, Jim Hall, Joe Pass, Kenny Barron, Hank Jones, Ben Webster, Bill Mays, Warne Marsh, Jimmy Rowles, Phil Woods, Roger Kellaway, Putte Wickman and others. He frequently collaborated in duos, most notably with pianist Kellaway after the mid-1980s.
Returning to the United States in early 1992, Mitchell settled in Oregon where he died at age 65 on November 8, 1992.
A collection of his poetry was published posthumously. His widow is preparing a biography.

Technique and playing style

Mitchell used standard tuning during the 1950s and for the first half of the 1960s, and produced sound similar to his professional jazz bass peers. However, "in 1966 he switched to cello tuning on his bass. At the same time, he began adjusting the tone controls of his amplifier to create a soft, unfocused sound in the lowest notes and to emphasize the upper harmonics in higher notes. The result was an airy tone quality that sounded gentle, not muscular. This airy tone and his frequent habit of strumming the strings with his right thumb contributed greatly to his unusual style."

Discography

As leader/co-leader

With Mose Allison
With Gene Ammons
  • Gene Ammons in Sweden
With Chet Baker
With Louis Bellson
  • Music, Romance and Especially Love
With Paul Bley
  • Live at Sweet Basil
With Bob Brookmeyer
  • Bob Brookmeyer Quartet
With Red Callender
  • The Lowest
With Buddy Collette
  • Jazz Loves Paris
  • At the Cinema!
With Maynard Ferguson
  • Dimensions
With Tommy Flanagan
With Jimmy Giuffre
  • 7 Pieces
  • Ad Lib
With Jim Hall
With Herbie Harper
  • Five Brothers
With Hampton Hawes
  • Hampton Hawes Trio
  • This Is Hampton Hawes
  • Everybody Likes Hampton Hawes
  • All Night Session! Vol. 1
  • All Night Session! Vol. 2
  • All Night Session! Vol. 3
  • Four!
  • The Seance
  • I'm All Smiles
With Paul Horn
With Stan Kenton
  • Kenton with Voices
  • Lush Interlude
  • Sophisticated Approach
With Barney Kessel
  • Kessel Plays Standards
  • To Swing or Not to Swing
  • Easy Like
With Karin Krog
  • I Remember You... with Warne Marsh
With Johnny Mandel
With Shelly Manne
  • Bells Are Ringing
With Warne Marsh
  • Music for Prancing
With Gil Mellé
  • Gil Mellé Quintet/Sextet
With Jack Montrose
  • Arranged/Played/Composed by Jack Montrose
With Gerry Mulligan
  • Paris Concert
  • California Concerts
  • I Want to Live
With Bill Perkins and Richie Kamuca
  • Tenors Head-On
With André Previn
  • Pal Joey
  • Gigi
  • King Size!
  • West Side Story
  • The Subterraneans
  • André Previn and J. J. Johnson with J.J. Johnson
  • Sessions, Live recorded 1956–57
  • A Different Kind of Blues with Itzhak Perlman
  • It's a Breeze with Itzhak Perlman
With Shorty Rogers
With Dick Rosmini
  • Adventures for 12-String, 6-String and Banjo
With Pete Rugolo
  • The Music from Richard Diamond
  • 10 Trombones Like 2 Pianos
  • The Original Music of Thriller
  • 10 Saxophones and 2 Basses
With George Russell
  • Electronic Sonata for Souls Loved by Nature
With Bud Shank
  • Bud Shank - Shorty Rogers - Bill Perkins
With Zoot Sims
  • In a Sentimental Mood
With Pierre Strom
  • Rallarvisor
With Clark Terry
  • Out of Nowhere
  • Brahms Lullabye
  • Funk Dumplin's
With Cal Tjader
  • West Side Story
With Ben Webster
  • Ben Webster at the Renaissance
With Magni Wentzel'