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 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, rhythm and blues or ...

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

MGM Studios Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

, who also 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 an ...

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 from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...

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 (music), mambo in the 1950s.''On Becoming Cuban: Identity, Nationality, and Culture'' Louis A. P� ...

, 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, especially for the conductor Arturo Toscanini. The NBC Symphony performed weekly radio concert broadcasts with Tosca ...

. 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 that 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 so ...

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 meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually t ...

s. Mitchell was also an original member of

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. During the same decade, he co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss. Alpert has recorded 28 albums that have landed on the ...

'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 Puako ( haw, Puakō) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 772 at the 2010 census, up from 429 at the 2000 census. The epicenter of the 2006 Kiholo Bay earthquake was some offshore of t ...

, 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 or no vision in the center of the visual field. Early on there are often no symptoms. Over time, however, som ...

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 ''Blood, Chet and Tears'' is a studio album by jazz trumpeter Chet Baker recorded in 1970 and released on the Verve label.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 from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...

*'' The New James'' (Capitol Records – ST 1037, 1958) *''

Harry's Choice ''Harry's Choice!'' is a studio album by American trumpeter Harry James with The Harry James Orchestra. The album was recorded in Hollywood, California in June, 1958 and released by Capitol Records on stereo LP (ST-1093), mono LP (T-1093), and ...

'' (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 K ...

*'' Stan Kenton Conducts the Los Angeles Neophonic Orchestra'' (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 f ...

'' (Capitol, 1969) With

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

*'' 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 arran ...

*''

Chances Are It Swings ''Chances Are It Swings'' is an album by American jazz trumpeter and arranger Shorty Rogers performing compositions by Robert Allen which was released on the RCA Victor label in 1959.The Wizard of Oz and Other Harold Arlen Songs ''The Wizard of Oz and Other Harold Arlen Songs'' is an album by American jazz trumpeter and arranger Shorty Rogers performing songs composed by Harold Arlen including several from '' The Wizard of Oz''. The album was issued by RCA Victor in 1959 ...

'' (RCA Victor, 1959) *'' Shorty Rogers Meets Tarzan'' (MGM, 1960) *''

An Invisible Orchard ''An Invisible Orchard'' is an album by American jazz trumpeter, composer and arranger Shorty Rogers which was recorded for RCA Victor in 1961 but remained unreleased by the label until 1997.997 Year 997 (Roman numerals, CMXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * 1 February: Empress Teishi gives birth to Princess Shushi - she is the first ...

*''

Bossa Nova Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovativ ...

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

Pete Rugolo Pietro "Pete" Rugolo (December 25, 1915 – October 16, 2011) 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 United States in 1920 and settle ...

*''

Rugolo Plays Kenton ''Rugolo Plays Kenton'' (subtitled ''The Pete Rugolo Orchestra Plays Compositions Introduced by Stan Kenton'') is an album by composer, arranger and conductor Pete Rugolo featuring performances of tunes associated with Stan Kenton recorded in 1958 ...

'' (EmArcy, 1958) *''

The Music from Richard Diamond ''The Music from Richard Diamond'' is an album by composer, arranger and conductor Pete Rugolo featuring compositions written for ''Richard Diamond, Private Detective'' recorded in 1959 and first released on the EmArcy label.Behind Brigitte Bardot ''Behind Brigitte Bardot'' (subtitled ''Cool Sounds from Her Hot Scenes'') is an album by composer, arranger and conductor Pete Rugolo featuring performances of tunes associated with the films of Brigitte Bardot, and other French films, recorded ...

'' (Warner Bros., 1960) *'' The Original Music of Thriller'' (Time, 1961) *'' Ten Trumpets and 2 Guitars'' (Mercury, 1961) 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 Birdland, the world-famous jazz club, with Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan, Chris Connor, Johnny Smi ...

*''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. In addition to being a ...

*''

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 then released his own vers ...

'' (Pacific Jazz, 1968)

Bibliography

References

External links