Keith Moore Mitchell (September 20, 1928, New York City – November 8, 1993, Salem Oregon), also known as Red Mitchell was an American jazz double-bassist and composer. He is also a poet, lyricist, and lyricist. Red was brought up in New Jersey by an engineer father and mother who were passionate about poetry. His first instruments were clarinet, alto saxophone and piano. Mitchell received an engineering scholarship from Cornell University, but he was already playing bass in the US Army by 1947. He was in a New York City jazz trio the following year. Mitchell was well-known for recording and performing with Mundell Lowe and Chubby Jackson, Charlie Ventura and Red Norvo. He also recorded with Gerry Mulligan and Shelly Manne. Mitchell joined the West Coast jazz scene in early 1950s with Andre Previn and Hampton Hawes, Billie Holiday and Ornette Coleman. Mitchell was also a bassist at the Los Angeles TV and Film Studios, appearing occasionally on screen. Mitchell was also featured in documentaries about Tal Farlow and Zoot Sims. Mitchell and Harold Land, a saxophonist, co-founded and led a quintet during the 1960s. Red started tuning his bass in fifths in 1966 (just like the cello, violin, and viola are tuned). This tuning method opened many doors for bassists. Mitchell moved to Stockholm in 1968. He won the Swedish Grammy Awards for 1986 and 1991 for both his recordings as a bassist, pianist, and vocalist and for his compositions, lyrics, and songs. Mitchell recorded and performed with Clark Terry and Lee Konitz, Herb Ellis and Jim Hall. After the mid-1980s, Mitchell was a frequent collaborator in duos, especially with pianist Kellaway. Mitchell returned to the United States in 1992 and settled in Oregon, where he died later that year at the age of 65. Posthumously, a collection of Mitchell’s poetry was published. His widow is currently writing a biography. Text contributed by users is available under Creative Commons By–SA License. It may also be available under GNU FDL.
