Frank Mitchell--what's the story

[Niko]

Can't check it discographically right now, but it seems the first tracks of that Verve comp are from the 1954 EmArcy sessions, the last two from Buttercorn Lady, the two or so before from another Mercury LP.

AFAIK all of this was reissued as individual CDs some time or another.

I had Buttercorn Lady but sold it - to my ears, a far below average Blakey album, despite the interesting sidemen.

the compilation has a relatively high sentimental value for me, it was one of my first 10 or so cds, i got in when i was 14 as a soundtrack for reading Jack Kerouacs "Subterraneans" (which would remain my favorite book for the next three years or so); was surprised to see that of all my cds just this compilation had gained substantial value - though in the light of those other reissues i don't really know why... still it's not a bad collection as an introduction to lesser known Blakey bands, such as the Gordon/Gryce one, this one, or the band from S'Make It...

[AllenLowe]

question is, are they any saxophonists from those days who DIDN'T end up in the East River?

[Niko]

question is, are they any saxophonists from those days who DIDN'T end up in the East River?

wanted to post a link to www.azarlawrence.com but it's not working anymore (it did though a few weeks ago)

[brownie]

Sonny Rollins stayed on the bridge!

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Frank Mitchell was a HONKER!

In addition to what's been mentioned, he's also on Blakey's Limelight album "Hold on I'm coming", with Grant Green and a pseudonymous Big John Patton. He plays a solo Willis Jackson would have been proud of on "Walking my cat named dog". Yes in bloody deed!

MG

[robertoart]

Frank Mitchell was a HONKER!

In addition to what's been mentioned, he's also on Blakey's Limelight album "Hold on I'm coming", with Grant Green and a pseudonymous Big John Patton. He plays a solo Willis Jackson would have been proud of on "Walking my cat named dog". Yes in bloody deed!

MG

Wasn't it established in another thread MG that it wasn't Big John Patton playing on that one but someone whose name really was Malcolm Base. Or have I remembered wrongly. Anyway it's all a moot point to me because I haven't heard it yet. Oh well gotta have something to look forward to hearing from the past.

[BFrank]

question is, are they any saxophonists from those days who DIDN'T end up in the East River?

wanted to post a link to www.azarlawrence.com but it's not working anymore (it did though a few weeks ago)

What happened to Azar? I must have missed that.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Frank Mitchell was a HONKER!

In addition to what's been mentioned, he's also on Blakey's Limelight album "Hold on I'm coming", with Grant Green and a pseudonymous Big John Patton. He plays a solo Willis Jackson would have been proud of on "Walking my cat named dog". Yes in bloody deed!

MG

Wasn't it established in another thread MG that it wasn't Big John Patton playing on that one but someone whose name really was Malcolm Base. Or have I remembered wrongly. Anyway it's all a moot point to me because I haven't heard it yet. Oh well gotta have something to look forward to hearing from the past.

I don't think so. Malcolm Bass is the name on the sleeve but, when you listen to it, it's BJP, who was contracted to BN at the time. (Unless it's Larry Young ) Should have put it in the BFT.

MG

[Niko]

question is, are they any saxophonists from those days who DIDN'T end up in the East River?

wanted to post a link to www.azarlawrence.com but it's not working anymore (it did though a few weeks ago)

What happened to Azar? I must have missed that.

if you google him you find that it seems he started another round of activity mostly in california in recent years

here it mentions a 2005 recording with McCoy Tyner for which there is no label yet

http://home.nestor.minsk.by/jazz/news/2005/05/2601.html

here is a link for a gig three weeks ago

http://jazz.meetup.com/110/boards/view/vie...?thread=2876036

and besides the (not overly informative) homepage just didn't work yesterday but is fine today:

http://www.azarlawrence.com/

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

uhoh you said big john patton- that means i better put on accent on the blues

[bertrand]

So what is the extent of the Frank Mitchell discography exactly?

Here's what I can remember off the top of my head (I looked up the dates, of course):

Art Blakey: Buttercorn Lady 1/1/66 and 1/9/66

Art Blakey: Hold On, I'm Coming 5/27/66

Lee Morgan: The Sixth Sense 11/10/67

Andrew Hill: 4/19/68 (issued as bonus tracks on the Grass Roots CD)

Lee Morgan: Blues For Mr. Tatum 9/13/68 (3 tracks on the Sixth Sense CD, 3 tracks 'rejected')

Anything else that I'm forgetting?

I know of only one Mitchell composition on these dates: 'Extemporaneous'. That's all I found when I did a copyright search a few years back. That doesn't mean he didn't write other unrecorded and uncopyrighted pieces. They're probably lost forever.

The Blakey chronology by Mike Fitzgerald and Steve Schwartz shows him with the Messengers between approximately 8/13/65 and 4/1/67. By 4/30/67, he had been repaced...by Joe Henderson (Billy Harper came in soon after). Note that Keith Jarrett was replaced fairly quickly by Chick Corea.

Bertrand.

Edited April 18, 2007 by bertrand

[DMP]

The Limelight" various artists album mentioned above... It was a record of tunes from a Broadway show ("I Had A Ball" - a flop) by the label's roster. Always wanted to hear it for the Blakey cut (same one that opens "'S Make It," with Gilmore's solo in there).

Also heard Mitchell with the Messengers, the "Buttercorn Lady" group but with a different pianist (not Corea, either), wish I could remember more.

[bertrand]

It's grotesque that the CD reissue of 'S Make It featured the truncated version of 'I Had A Ball'. They could have at least put the unedited version as a hidden bonus track.

According to the Blakey chronology, the pianist could have been John Hicks, Lonnie Liston Smith, Mike Nock or even McCoy Tyner. Do you remember where you saw them and what year?

Bertrand.

[DMP]

It was at the "Five Spot" (on St. Mark's), maybe around 1966. Lonnie Liston Smith is a possibility... Could it have been Ronnie Matthews?

[bertrand]

Here's the link for the chronology:

http://www.jazzdiscography.com/Artists/Blakey/chron.htm

I found 3 listings for the Five Spot during the time frame mentioned in my earlier post.

1) November 9, 1965: Chuck Mangione-tpt; Frank Mitchell-tsx; Lonnie Liston Smith-p; Reggie Johnson-b

Five Spot, NYC (November 9, 1965) [VV 11/4/65 p.12, VV 11/11/65 p.14]

2) Five Spot, NYC (November into December 1965) [VV 11/25/65 p.12, VV 12/16/65 p.18] [personnel unknown]

3) Spring 1966: Chuck Mangione-tpt; Frank Mitchell-tsx; Chick Corea-p; Reggie Johnson-b

Five Spot, NYC (3 weeks c. late May 1966) [db 6/30 p.15]

I know booking policies were very different back then and groups could play for several weeks in a row (wasn't Monk at the Five Spot for 6 months straight?), so I'm going to guess the first two are the same residency, and the personnel is hopefully constant throughout, i.e. Liston Smith on piano. Why would they book the Messengers on 11/9, then again 3 weeks later? Of course, Mike F. has all this and much, much more on his laptop so he probably could tell me who was at the Five Spot the whole month - maybe there was another band sandwiched between two Messengers gigs. I'll follow up on this.

My guess is this is the gig you saw, since you know it wasn't Corea. Of course, there could have been another Five Spot gig with Mitchell that is not listed in the chronology. If only there were a website listing all the Five Spot gigs...

Bertrand.

P.S. Looking over this, I see that we just need to get a hold of the Village Voice from 11/18/65. Any pack rats out there?

Edited April 19, 2007 by bertrand

[DMP]

Bertrand - Thanks for the trip down memory (or lack of) lane! Think it was Smith, although he may have been announced simply as "Lonnie Smith." I do remember being underwhelmed.... (Jaki Byard may have played solo piano between Messenger sets.)