Whitey Mitchell
| Gordon "Whitey" Mitchell | |
|---|---|
| Born |
February 22, 1932 Hackensack, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | January 17, 2009 (aged 76) Palm Springs, California |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, TV producer, screenwriter |
| Instruments | Bass |
| Years active | 1966–1994 |
Gordon "Whitey" Mitchell (February 22, 1932 – January 17, 2009) was an American jazz bassist and television writer/producer. He was born in Hackensack, New Jersey.
Mitchell was the brother of bassist Red Mitchell. He began on clarinet and tuba as a youngster before choosing bass as his primary instrument. He studied radio & television at Syracuse University and then plunged into the New York jazz scene, becoming a regular at the famed nightspots Birdland and Basin Street East. He led his own groups at The Village Vanguard and The Embers and later toured with big band greats Benny Goodman and Pete Rugolo, played Carnegie Hall with Gene Krupa, appeared with Buddy Rich, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie and Lester Young on Jazz At The Philharmonic.He played with Elinor Sherry and Shep Fields in the early 1950s before serving in the Army during the Korean War. From 1954 he worked freelance in New York City, playing with Gene Krupa (1955), Mel Tormé, Jack Jones, J.J. Johnson, Kai Winding, Pete Rugolo, Lester Young, Charlie Ventura, Herbie Mann, Betty Roche, Oscar Pettiford (1956–1957), Gene Quill, Joe Puma, Johnny Richards, Peter Appleyard, André Previn, and Benny Goodman (1963–1964). He performed on hundreds of recording sessions, television and film scores and released several albums under his own name, including one with ABC-Paramount in 1956, and worked with Red and Blue Mitchell in 1958 as "The Mitchells, Red, Whitey & Blue," on a Metrojazz release. Mitchell recorded with Anita O'Day, Barbra Streisand, Anthony Newley, and played the bass solo introduction on Ben E. King's hit record "Stand By Me." He often placed in the Metronome and Downbeat jazz polls.
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