Who was Mitch Mitchell? 

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           "Mitch Mitchell was the legendary Hendrix sticksman who unleashed a drumming revolution."

          -- Rhythm Magazine

 

          The innovator, the legendary Mitch Mitchell was the world’s first rocking drummer with jazzy chops, and the most influential of the ’60s. His work with Jimi Hendrix threw every rock and roll drummer for a loop.... Mitchell successfully blended the improvisational freedom of jazz drumming with the speed, power and flash of rock....

     --  "Sunday Sounds" editorial in DRUM Magazine

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           (Mitch) Mitchell’s style of “lead drumming” ... always demanded attention and was an integral ingredient in the material. Mitchell was also heavily influenced by jazz, which helped him stand out, as the songs might not have been as memorable or popular with a more conventional rock-drumming approach. It can easily be argued that Mitch Mitchell was one of the first jazz fusion drummers since he so successfully bridged the two styles of jazz and rock, using lots of rudimental sticking patterns while interacting with the music around him and refusing to play simple accompaniment. His contribution to the music and influence as a drummer was as great as any of his contemporaries. 
   -- Brad Schlueter

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          .... "throughout his (Jimi Hendrix's) short career, it was rare to see Hendrix onstage without one person: Mitch Mitchell.  At his first gigs in England, all the way through Woodstock and his final shows, Hendrix’s primary partner in crime was the wild jazz-influenced English drummer, only replacing him briefly (with Buddy Miles) in "Band of Gypsies" before realizing his unmatched musical chemistry with Mitchell and bringing him back.

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           Mitchell complemented Hendrix in ways that no one else could. He could be equally flamboyant with his fills and hits, but they never overshadowed Hendrix’s own playing. Instead, the two challenged each other and frequently engaged in sonic dialogues trading barbs and phrases like they were having a friendly game of one-upmanship. Nobody was a slouch in Hendrix’s bands, but Mitchell was the only person to bring the same level of aggression, beauty, soul and technical skill that Hendrix put forth each and every time he strapped on a guitar."

     - - Tyler Golsen - FaroutMagazine.uk

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          "Mitchell brought a jazz sensibility to the Experience — which makes sense since his influences were Elvin Jones, Max Roach, and Joe Morello. He also excelled at bringing improvisatory flourishes to Hendrix’s open-ended guitar playing.    In the process, he developed a unique chemistry with Hendrix’s unprecedented guitar playing that has never been equaled. "

      -- DRUM Magazine

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          "Mitch Mitchell's playing mixed the improvisational ingredients and the rhythmic sense of swing out of the jazz tradition with the  audacity and power of rock 'n' roll. This combination meant that the art form of drumming would never be the same. Mitch Mitchell was not  alone in blending jazz and rock drumming styles, but he may have pushed the concept further than anyone who came before him. "

      -- Mark Griffith

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            "When it seems that drums should be boring, and when the band starts muttering about 'meat and potatoes,' there is always

 Mitch Mitchell to remind us otherwise.

         -- Stuart Copeland - Drummer for the Police.  Stuart calls Mitch "my favorite drummer."