Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Billy Mitchell was born in Kansas City, Missouri on November 3, 1926. In the late Forties he worked Detroit with the Nat Towles’ band before venturing to New York to join Lucky Millinder. In 1949 he recorded with Milt Jackson, worked and recorded with the big bands of Milt Buckner, Gil Fuller and toured with Woody Herman’s Second Herd.

1950 saw him back in Detroit but by mid-decade Billy was playing with the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band taking a making solo on cool Breeze at the ’57 Newport Jazz Festival. From 1957 until 1961 and from 1966 to 1967 Mitchell played with Count Basie, replacing Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis. In the early 1960s he co-led a group with trombonist Al Grey, and also served as musical director for Stevie Wonder during this period.

Although he had a short list of recordings as a leader Mitchell performed with jazz luminaries like Bobby Hutcherson, Gene Ammons, Rufus Reid, Tommy Flanagan, Sam Jones, Dolo Coker and Earl May among others, his “Colossus in Detroit” has remained a sought after collectible album.

Tenor saxophonist Billy Mitchell, who mainly played in the hard bop genre, passed away of lung cancer on April 18, 2001 in Rockville Centre, New York.

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