Brian Mitchell is a musical artist who records and performs his own original music. He has also worked with artists such as

Levon Helm Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) was an American musician who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for The Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Hel ...

& The Midnight Ramble Band,

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

BB King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), known professionally as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer. He is best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Tired of ...

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

Buster Poindexter David Roger Johansen (January 9, 1950 – February 28, 2025) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor best known as lead singer of the seminal proto-punk band the New York Dolls. He is also known for his work under the pseudonym Buster Poi ...

, and

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descr ...

. Mitchell has appeared on five Grammy Award-winning recordings, three with

, and one each with

and with

Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz guitarist, jazz, country guitarist, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid body ...

. In 2015, Brian was inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame. He is known to have versatility on piano, Hammond B-3 organ, accordion, various vintage keyboards and harmonica, plus his distinct vocal stylings. Mitchell believed that music is life music can heal people Mitchell is a native New Yorker and is a part of Manhattan's competitive live music scene. Known for kicking out high-energy performances, Mitchell's music “features a unique blend of gutbucket blues, funky New Orleans style R&B, quirky Latin rhythms, and occasional visits into outer space.” Mitchell is currently performing throughout the country with The Weight, former members of The Band & The Levon Helm Midnight Ramble celebrating the music of The Band. He performs much of his original music with "The Brian Mitchell Band" as well as with his accordion power trio "Fatboy Kanootch" with Clark Gayton on tuba. He also performs funky electronica music with "House of Diablo" featuring Shawn Pelton on drums and electronic percussion at various nightclubs and performance spaces around New York City. Mitchell’s work as a composer has been featured in TV, film, and theatre. His original music with ''House of Diablo'' was featured in the Robert Altman movie ''Tanner On Tanner''. His blues piano stylings were used in Bill Sims music for August Wilson's Broadway play "8 Pianos". He also cowrote the music for the AMC TV series ''Hell On Wheels'' with Marc Copely and James Dolan and recently, the song "Step Away" written by Mitchell and Christine Santelli was included on Bettye LaVette's Grammy nominated CD "Worthy". Mitchell has made frequent TV appearances including performances on ''The Late Show with David Letterman'', ''Late Night with Conan O’Brien'', and ''The Tonight Show'' appearing with artists such as Dolly Parton, Dwight Yoakam, and Rosanne Cash. He has made an appearance on the soap opera "One Life To Live" as a mysterious piano man in the local hotel bar. Mitchell’s accordion can be heard throughout Bob Dylan's version of the Dean Martin chestnut “Return To Me" on the HBO series ''The Sopranos''. Other special collaborations include accompanying actor Christopher Walken on accordion in the movie "Search and Destroy" and playing piano with Amy Helm in the Vera Farmiga directed film "Higher Ground". Mitchell performed with Levon Helm in the Grammy award-winning DVD ''Live At The Ryman'' along with Robert Plant, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Buddy Miller, and Sheryl Crow. On the PBS show ''The Love For Levon Concert'', he can be seen performing with Roger Waters, Gregg Allman & Warren Haynes, John Mayer, John Hiatt, John Prine, Mavis Staples, Lucinda Williams, Jakob Dylan, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, and My Morning Jacket. On April 22, 2017, Mitchell performed on PBS once again with The Weight Band on "Live At The Infinity" and in November 2017, he appeared at The Woodland Festival in Namsos, Norway as the featured accordionist. In December 2017, he appeared at the 37th annual John Lennon Tribute at The Symphony Space performing the music of the Beatles' ''

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (often referred to simply as ''Sgt. Pepper'') is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept ...

'' with Fatboy Kanootch. His unique approach to performing and recording in the studio was the subject of a feature article in Keyboard Magazine. Subsequently, Brian has written various articles about his approach to performance as well as doing an interview with Allen Toussaint. In 2018, Mitchell released the album ''World Gone Mad'' as a member of The Weight Band. The project features contributions from

Jackie Greene Jackie Greene (born November 27, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He has a solo career and became a member of The Black Crowes in 2013, though the band broke up in 2015 before he could contribute any studio work. Early life ...

and

Stan Szelest Stanley Martin Szelest (February 11, 1942 – January 20, 1991) was an American musician from Buffalo, New York, known for founding an influential blues band in the 1950s and 1960s, Stan and the Ravens, and later as a keyboardist with Ronnie Hawk ...

References

External links

Bio on Levon Helm's website
*
"The Saint of New Orleans Piano"
by Brian Mitchell. Interview of musician

in Keyboard Magazine, November 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Brian Living people American keyboardists American accordionists 21st-century American accordionists Year of birth missing (living people)