Mitch Mitchell
John "Mitch" Mitchell (born July 9, 1947 in London , † November 12, 2008 in Portland , Oregon ) was a British jazz and rock drummer who first appeared as a child actor and later as a drummer for Jimi Hendrix . He was the last surviving member of the Jimi Hendrix Experience band .
Life
Mitchell learned his instrument from Jim Marshall (whose amplifier system had had a decisive influence on the rock sound since the 1960s) when he worked in his musical instrument shop alongside acting. Mitchell's musical role model was the American jazz drummer Elvin Jones . Like him, Mitchell was largely self-taught . An additional indication of his talent for rhythm is that he was excellent at tap dancing - a skill that he shared with other great drummers such as Buddy Rich and Steve Gadd . He preferred to play on drums from the renowned British brand Premier .
Before his time with The Jimi Hendrix Experience he played with Georgie Fame in Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames and also after the breakup of this group in Fames' solo project. When Chas Chandler - former bassist of the rock band The Animals - signed Jimi Hendrix in September 1966 and was looking for musicians for the planned Jimi Hendrix Group in London, an extensive drummer casting was carried out. Mitchell made the best impression in comparison to all other competitors and in the end also prevailed against the then already renowned drummer Aynsley Dunbar . With the completion of this selection process, his admission to the "Jimi Hendrix Experience" was complete.
Even after the dissolution of the Jimi Hendrix Experience , Mitchell continued to play with Jimi Hendrix, for example at the Woodstock Festival in 1969. From April to September 1970, he played in a new edition of the Jimi Hendrix Experience (Cry-of-Love-Band) with Jimi Hendrix and Billy Cox on bass on their last US and European tour.
As an accomplished jazz drummer, Mitchell had a large repertoire of percussion techniques as well as a pronounced musical empathy and rhythmic anticipation. Because of these exceptional abilities, Mitchell was able to easily respond to Hendrix - especially live - music that was strongly improvisational in a congenial and creative way. On the one hand, he was able to underlay his complex guitar solos with a virtuoso, difficult polyrhythm , on the other hand he was able to seamlessly weave his fast, energetic drum solos into the "gaps" between Hendrix's guitar solos.
Three prime examples of Mitchell's varied, extremely dynamic and always extremely precise drumming work - also in fast rock, which is particularly demanding in terms of percussion - can be seen in the Hendrix composition Fire from the album Are You Experienced , in the cover version of the Howlin 'Wolf classic Killing Floor or in the Hendrix composition If 6 was 9 from the album Axis: Bold as Love , which he underlaid with a distinctly unorthodox, counter-rhythmically finely chiseled sound carpet.
After the dissolution of the Jimi Hendrix Experience as a result of the death of Jimi Hendrix on September 18, 1970, Mitchell no longer joined any musical formation as a permanent member. Since then, Mitch Mitchell has worked as a session and studio musician.
Mitchell was found dead on November 12, 2008 in a hotel room in Portland, Oregon. In 2016, Rolling Stone listed him eighth of the 100 best drummers of all time .
Web links
- Mitch Mitchell in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Profile on Drummerworld
- Detailed information on Mitch Mitchell, drummer of the Jimi Hendrix Experience ...
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jimi Hendrix drummer Mitch Mitchell dies, accessed November 13, 2008.
- ↑ 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time. Rolling Stone , March 31, 2016, accessed August 6, 2017 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mitchell, Mitch |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Mitchell, John (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British jazz and rock drummer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 9, 1947 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | London |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 12, 2008 |
| Place of death | Portland , Oregon |