For those unaware, Keith Moore Red Mitchell (September 20th, 1927 - November 8th, 1992) was an American jazz double-bassist, composer, lyricist, and poet, born in New York City.

This brilliant 4CD collection collates the very finest music that Red Mitchell ever released, from the late-50s to the mid-60s, and it therefore acts as the best compilation of the great man ever released; and thus serves as both a fine starting point for those new to his work, and a superb reminder for the rest of us.

Born in New York City and raised in New Jersey by an engineer father who loved music and a mother passionate about poetry, Mitchell began musical training with piano lessons at age nine, followed by alto saxophone and clarinet. After briefly attending Cornell University on an engineering scholarship, he switched to double bass while serving in the U.S. Army in Germany in 1947, marking the start of his professional jazz career.

Mitchell’s early career in the late 1940s and 1950s saw him perform and record with prominent figures including Jackie Paris, Mundell Lowe, Chubby Jackson, Charlie Ventura, Woody Herman’s orchestra, Red Norvo’s trio, and Gerry Mulligan’s quartet, establishing him as a sought-after session musician on the East and West Coasts.

Relocating to Los Angeles in 1954, he contributed to the West Coast jazz scene, collaborating with Hampton Hawes, Ornette Coleman, and André Previn, while also working as a studio musician for MGM and appearing in films like I Want to Live. In the early 1960s, he co-led a quintet with tenor saxophonist Harold Land, releasing influential albums on Atlantic Records, and innovated by tuning his bass in fifths starting in 1966 to expand its melodic range.

Seeking greater artistic freedom amid the challenges of studio work, Mitchell moved to Stockholm, Sweden, in 1968, where he immersed himself in the European jazz scene, leading groups, teaching, and accompanying American expatriates like Dizzy Gillespie, Phil Woods, Jim Hall, and Joe Pass. During this period, he won Swedish Grammy Awards in 1986 and 1991, composed over 120 songs, and formed a prolific duo with pianist Roger Kellaway, resulting in eight albums between 1987 and 1992.

One of the most recorded bassists in jazz history, Mitchell returned to the United States periodically for performances before settling in Oregon shortly before his death from a stroke in Salem at age 65; his legacy includes a memorial fund and posthumous publications of his poetry.

As for this quite wondrous new collection of his works, the leader’s bass work is as potent on the early stuff as it ever was throughout his long and rightfully storied career.

Thus, this collection dutifully showcases Mitchell’s versatility as a pianist, vocalist, and composer and is gleefully inclusive of sessions noted for their taste, subtlety, and superb improvisation. Coupled with an emotional lyrical honesty, something seemingly missing from today’s thrown-together radio play songs, this was also the hallmark of Mitchell.

Disc 1: 1. Happy Minor 2. Bluesology 3. Once In A While 4. Long Ago And Far Away 5. Gone With The Wind 6. Kelly Green 7. Scrapple From The Apple 8. Scrapple From The Apple (Alternate Version) 9. Rainy Night 10. I Thought Of You 11. Out Of The Blue 12. Paul’s Pal 13. Sandu 14. Cheek To Cheek

Disc 2: 1. The Parisians 2. I Remember It Well 3. A Toujours 4. It’s A Bore 5. Aunt Alicias March 6. Thank Heaven For Little Girls 7. Gigi 8. She Is Not Thinking Of Me 9. Yardbird Suite 10. There Will Never Be Another You 11. Bow Jest 12. Sweet Sue 13. Up Blues 14. Like Someone In Love 15. Love Is Just Around The Corner

Disc 3:
1. Good Friday Blues 2. Willow Weep For Me 3. I Remember You 4. Bill Not Phil 5. When I Have You 6. I Was Doin’ Alright 7. Jim’s Blues 8. Oh, You Crazy Moon 9. Rejoice 10. Black Eyed Peas 11. You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To 12. Night In Tunisia

Disc 4: 1. Nice Work If You Can Get It 2. Isn’t This A Lovely Day 3. I Used To Be Color Blind 4. A Foggy Day 5. Not My Girl 6. Light Fantastic 7. A Fine Romance 8. So Near And Yet So Far 9. Puttin’ On The Ritz 10. Fascinatin’ Rhythm 11. Last Chance 12. Slow Freight 13. The Blues 14. Liberty Bell 15. Red Devil 16. Brook’s Blues 17. Doe Eyes

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