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American jazz trombonist
Grover Mitchell
Birth name Grover Curry Mitchell Born (1930-03-17 ) 17 March 1930
Whatley , Alabama, U.S.Died 6 August 2003(2003-08-06) (aged 73) New York City, U.S. Genres
Jazz Occupation(s) Musician, bandleader Instrument(s) Trombone Years active 1960–2000 Labels
Stash ,
Ken
Musical artist
Grover Mitchell, born Grover Curry Mitchell (March 17, 1930 – August 6, 2003) was an American
jazz trombonist who led the
Count Basie Orchestra .
Mitchell was born in
Whately ,
Alabama , but he moved with his parents to
Pittsburgh ,
Pennsylvania , when he was eight. He played the
bugle in school and wanted to play
trumpet . However, the school band needed a trombonist and reportedly Mitchell's long arms fit the task. He was a member of the school's orchestra with
Ahmad Jamal and
Dakota Staton .
[1] At sixteen, he played with
King Kolax 's
territory band in
Indiana .
[2]
In 1951 he joined the
U.S. Marines and played in a military band.
[1] After being discharged in 1953, he moved to
San Francisco , where he worked with
Earl Hines ,
Lionel Hampton , and
Duke Ellington .
[2] From 1962–1970, he was a member of the Count Basie Orchestra. Mitchell had been a fan of
Tommy Dorsey , as
Count Basie told him he sounded like him. He spent the next decade working in television and movies, then returned to Basie's orchestra in 1980 and remained with it until his death in 1984.
Thad Jones became leader of the orchestra, followed by
Frank Foster , then Mitchell in 1995.
[2]
[3]
As bandleader, Mitchell won the Grammy Award for
Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album for
Live at Manchester Craftsmen's Guild (1996) and Count Plays Duke (1998)
[3]
He died of cancer in New York at the age of 73.
[4]
Meet Grover Mitchell (Jazz Chronicles, 1979)
The Devil's Waltz (Jazz Chronicles, 1980)
Live at the Red Parrot (Hemisphere, 1984)
Grover Mitchell & His Orchestra (
Stash , 1987)
Truckin ' (Stash, 1987)
Hip Shakin' (
Ken , 1990)
Live at Manchester Craftsmen's Guild (1996) with the
Count Basie Orchestra
On Track with his New Blue Devils (Quixotic Records, 1997)
[5]
Count Plays Duke with the Count Basie Orchestra (MAMA, 1998)
Swing Shift (
MAMA/Summit , 1999)
Grover Mitchell Big Band (
Storyville , 2004)
[6]
With
Count Basie
On My Way & Shoutin' Again! (Verve, 1962)
This Time by Basie! (Reprise, 1963)
More Hits of the 50's and 60's (Verve, 1963)
Pop Goes the Basie (Reprise, 1965)
Basie Meets Bond (United Artists, 1966)
Live at the Sands (Before Frank) (Reprise, 1966 [1998])
Sinatra at the Sands (Reprise, 1966) with
Frank Sinatra
Basie's Beatle Bag (Verve, 1966)
Broadway Basie's...Way (Command, 1966)
Hollywood...Basie's Way (Command, 1967)
Basie's Beat (Verve, 1967)
Basie's in the Bag (Brunswick, 1967)
The Happiest Millionaire (Coliseum, 1967)
Half a Sixpence (Dot, 1967)
The Board of Directors (Dot, 1967) with
The Mills Brothers
Manufacturers of Soul (Brunswick, 1968) with
Jackie Wilson
The Board of Directors Annual Report (Dot, 1968) with The Mills Brothers
Basie Straight Ahead (Dot, 1968)
How About This (Paramount, 1968) with
Kay Starr
Standing Ovation (Dot, 1969)
Basic Basie (MPS, 1969)
Basie on the Beatles (Happy Tiger, 1969)
High Voltage (MPS, 1970)
Me and You (Pablo, 1983)
With
Gene Ammons
With
Joey DeFrancesco
With
Al Grey
With
Eddie Harris
With
Oliver Nelson
Members 1951–1960
Dance Session (1952–54, Clef)
Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings (with
Joe Williams ) (1955, Clef)
April in Paris (1955–56, Verve)
The Greatest!! Count Basie Plays, Joe Williams Sings Standards (with
Joe Williams ) (1956, Verve)
Basie in London (live) (1956, Verve)
One O'Clock Jump (with
Joe Williams and
Ella Fitzgerald ) (1957, Verve)
Count Basie at Newport (live) (1957, Verve)
E = MC² (1958, Roulette)
Basie Plays Hefti (1958, Roulette)
No Count Sarah (with
Sarah Vaughan ) (1958, EmArcy)
Breakfast Dance and Barbecue (1959, Roulette)
Welcome to the Club (Uncredited) (
Nat King Cole ) (1959, Capitol)
In Person! (with
Tony Bennett ) (1959, Columbia)
Chairman of the Board (1959, Roulette)
Strike Up the Band (with
Tony Bennett ) (1959, Roulette)
Basie/Eckstine Incorporated (with
Billy Eckstine ) (1959, Roulette)
Everyday I Have the Blues (with
Joe Williams ) (1959, Roulette)
The Count Basie Story (1960, Roulette)
I Gotta Right to Swing (Uncredited) (
Sammy Davis Jr. ) (1960, Decca)
1961–1970
First Time! The Count Meets the Duke (with
Duke Ellington ) (1961, Columbia)
The Legend (1961, Roulette)
Count Basie/Sarah Vaughan (with
Sarah Vaughan ) (1961, Roulette)
Basie at Birdland (live) (1961, Roulette)
Easin' It (1962, Roulette)
Sinatra–Basie: An Historic Musical First (with
Frank Sinatra ) (1962, Reprise)
On My Way & Shoutin' Again! (1963, Verve)
Li'l Ol' Groovemaker...Basie! (1963, Verve)
This Time by Basie! (1963, Verve)
Ella and Basie! (with
Ella Fitzgerald ) (1963, Verve)
Basie Land (1964, Verve)
It Might as Well Be Swing (with
Frank Sinatra ) (1964, Reprise)
Basie Picks the Winners (1965, Verve)
Our Shining Hour (with
Sammy Davis Jr. ) (1965, Verve)
Arthur Prysock and Count Basie (with
Arthur Prysock ) (1965, Verve)
Basie's Beatle Bag (1965, Verve)
Broadway Basie's...Way (1966, Command)
Basie Meets Bond (1966, United Artists)
Hollywood...Basie's Way (1966, Command)
Sinatra at the Sands (live, with
Frank Sinatra ) (1966, Reprise)
Basie's Beat (1967, Verve)
Half a Sixpence (1967, Dot)
The Board of Directors (with
The Mills Brothers ) (1968, Dot)
The Board of Directors Annual Report (with
The Mills Brothers ) (1968, Dot)
Basie Straight Ahead (1969, Dot)
Standing Ovation (1969, Dot)
Afrique (1970, RCA Victor)
Basie on the Beatles (1970,
Happy Tiger )
1971–1980
Have A Nice Day (1971, Daybreak)
Bing 'n' Basie (with
Bing Crosby ) (1972, Daybreak)
Jazz at Santa Monica Civic '72 (live) (1972, Pablo)
The Bosses (with
Big Joe Turner ) (1973, Pablo)
Basie Big Band (1975, Pablo)
Fun Time (1975, Pablo)
I Told You So (1976, Pablo)
Prime Time (1977, Pablo)
Montreux '77 (live) (1977, Pablo)
Live in Japan '78 (live) (1978, Pablo)
On the Road (1979, Pablo)
Digital III at Montreux (live) (1979, Pablo)
A Classy Pair (with
Ella Fitzgerald ) (1979, Pablo)
A Perfect Match (live, with
Ella Fitzgerald ) (1979, Pablo)
Kansas City Shout (1980, Pablo)
1981–1990
Warm Breeze (1981, Pablo)
Send in the Clowns (
Sarah Vaughan ) (1981, Pablo)
Farmer's Market Barbecue (1982, Pablo)
88 Basie Street (1983, Pablo)
Me and You (1983, Pablo)
Fancy Pants (final album with
Count Basie ) (1983, Pablo)
Long Live the Chief (1987, Denon)
Diane Schuur & the Count Basie Orchestra (live, with
Diane Schuur ) (1987, GRP)
The Legend, the Legacy (1990, Denon)
1991–2000
The George Benson Big Boss Band featuring The Count Basie Orchestra (1991, Warner Bros.)
The Count Basie Orchestra Live at El Morocco (1992, Telarc)
Joe Williams and the Count Basie Orchestra (1993, Telarc)
Live at Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: The Count Basie Orchestra (1997, Blue Jackel)
At Long Last (with
Rosemary Clooney ) (1998, Concord)
Count Plays Duke (1998, MAMA)
Swing Shift (1999, MAMA)
2001–present Small-group sessions
Basie Jam (1973, Pablo)
For the First Time (1974, Pablo)
Basie & Zoot (with
Zoot Sims ) (1975, Pablo)
For the Second Time (1975, Pablo)
Basie Jam 2 (1976, Pablo)
Basie Jam 3 (1976, Pablo)
Kansas City 5 (1977, Pablo)
The Gifted Ones (with
Dizzy Gillespie ) (1977, Pablo)
Basie Jam: Montreux '77 (live) (1977, Pablo)
Satch and Josh...Again (with
Oscar Peterson ) (1977, Pablo)
Night Rider (with Oscar Peterson) (1978, Pablo)
Count Basie Meets Oscar Peterson – The Timekeepers (with Oscar Peterson) (1978, Pablo)
Yessir, That's My Baby (with Oscar Peterson) (1978, Pablo)
Kansas City 7 (1980, Pablo)
Kansas City 6 (1981, Pablo)
Mostly Blues...and Some Others (1983, Pablo)
International National Artists Other