Oliver Edward Mitchell (April 8, 1927 – May 11, 2013) was an American musician and

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a dance band, rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhyth ...

. He was the son of Harold Mitchell, lead trumpeter for

MGM Studios Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American film and television production and distribution company headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. Metro ...

, who taught Ollie to play the trumpet.

Career

Mitchell would go on to play in

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

s for

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band to great commercial success from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947, but ...

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, ...

and

Pérez Prado Dámaso Pérez Prado (December 11, 1916 – September 14, 1989) was a Cuban bandleader, pianist, composer and arranger who popularized the mambo in the 1950s.''On Becoming Cuban: Identity, Nationality, and Culture'' Louis A. Pérez Jr. - 2012 ...

, among others, as well as the

NBC Symphony Orchestra The NBC Symphony Orchestra was a radio orchestra conceived by David Sarnoff, the president of the Radio Corporation of America, the parent corporation of the National Broadcasting Company especially for the conductor Arturo Toscanini. The NBC ...

. In the 1960s, Mitchell joined The Wrecking Crew, a group of studio and session musicians who played anonymously on many records for popular singers of the time, as well as television

theme song Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

s, and advertising

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meanings that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...

s. Mitchell was also an original member of

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter, pianist, singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, conductor, painter, sculptor and theatre producer, who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass (sometimes called "Herb Alpe ...

's Tijuana Brass. He would go on to have his own bands—Ollie Mitchell's Sunday Band, and the Olliephonic Horns.

Personal life

In 1995, Mitchell and his wife Nancy moved from Los Angeles to Puako, Hawaii, where he founded the Horns. In 2010, Mitchell published his memoir, ''Lost, But Making Good Time: A View from the Back Row of the Band''. According to his wife, he stopped playing the trumpet toward the end of his life, due to

macular degeneration Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD or ARMD), is a medical condition which may result in blurred vision, blurred or vision loss, no vision in the center of the visual field. Early on there are often no sym ...

and hand problems from an automobile accident. Mitchell also suffered from cancer and died on May 11, 2013. He was survived by his wife and four children.

Discography

With

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

*'' Blood, Chet and Tears'' (Verve, 1970) With

*''

The New James ''The New James'' is a studio album by American trumpeter Harry James with The Harry James Orchestra. The album was recorded April 1–3, 1958 and released by Capitol Records on stereo LP (ST-1037), mono LP (T-1037), and a series of three EPs (E ...

'' (Capitol Records – ST 1037, 1958) *'' Harry's Choice'' (Capitol Records – ST 1093, 1958) With

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though ...

*''

Stan Kenton Conducts the Los Angeles Neophonic Orchestra ''Stan Kenton Conducts the Los Angeles Neophonic Orchestra'' is an album by bandleader Stan Kenton recorded in 1965 by Capitol Records.Vosbein, PStan Kenton Discographyaccessed July 4, 2016 Reception Critical opinion remains divided. The Allmu ...

'' (Capitol, 1965) *''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...

'' (Capitol, 1969) With

Irene Kral Irene Kral (January 18, 1932 – August 15, 1978) was an American jazz singer. Life She was born to Czechoslovak parents in Chicago and settled in Los Angeles, California, in the early 1960s. She died from breast cancer in Encino, Los Angeles. ...

*'' Wonderful Life'' (Mainstream, 1965) With

Shorty Rogers Milton "Shorty" Rogers (born Milton Rajonsky; April 14, 1924 – November 7, 1994) was an American jazz musician, one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played trumpet and flugelhorn and was in demand for his skills as an arra ...

*'' Chances Are It Swings'' (RCA Victor, 1958) *'' The Wizard of Oz and Other Harold Arlen Songs'' (RCA Victor, 1959) *'' Shorty Rogers Meets Tarzan'' (MGM, 1960) *'' An Invisible Orchard'' (RCA Victor, 1961

997 Year 997 ( CMXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * 1 February: Empress Teishi gives birth to Princess Shushi - she is the first child of the emperor, but because of the power stru ...

*'' Bossa Nova'' (Reprise, 1962) *'' Jazz Waltz'' (Reprise, 1962) With

Pete Rugolo Pietro Rugolo (December 25, 1915 – October 16, 2011), known professionally as Pete Rugolo, was an American jazz composer, arranger, and record producer. Life and career Rugolo was born in San Piero Patti, Sicily. His family emigrated to the ...

*'' Rugolo Plays Kenton'' (EmArcy, 1958) *'' The Music from Richard Diamond'' (EmArcy, 1959) *'' Behind Brigitte Bardot'' (Warner Bros., 1960) *'' The Original Music of Thriller'' (Time, 1961) *'' Ten Trumpets and 2 Guitars'' (Mercury, 1961) With

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band formed in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, in 1971 by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Originally having a traditional band lineup, Becker and Fagen cho ...

*''

Pretzel Logic ''Pretzel Logic'' is the third studio album by American rock band Steely Dan, released on February 20, 1974, by ABC Records. It was recorded at the Village Recorder in West Los Angeles, California, with producer Gary Katz. The album was Steely ...

'' (ABC Records, 1974) With

Dan Terry Dan Terry (December 22, 1924 – December 27, 2011) was an American big band leader, arranger, and trumpet and flugelhorn player who appeared at the Birdland (jazz club), Birdland jazz club with Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan, Chris Connor, John ...

*''The Complete Vita Recordings of Dan Terry (Vita Records, 1952) With

Gerald Wilson Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. He arranged music for D ...

*''

California Soul "California Soul" is a funk-soul tune written by Ashford & Simpson, issued originally as the B-side of the Messengers' single "Window Shopping" in 1967 under the Motown group of labels. Other recordings *Nick Ashford released his own version i ...

'' (Pacific Jazz, 1968)

Bibliography

References

External links