The brother of bassist
Red Mitchell,
Whitey Mitchell never achieved the fame of his sibling but he was also an excellent player. He played clarinet and tuba as a youth before settling on the bass. Whitey played with the Elinor Sherry Quartet and Shep Fields Orchestra (1951-52) before serving in the Army. Starting in 1954, Whitey freelanced in New York, playing in countless situations. Among his more important associations were
Gene Krupa (1955),
Tony Scott, J.J. Johnson-Kai Winding,
Pete Rugolo,
Charlie Ventura,
Herbie Mann,
Betty Roche, Oscar Pettiford's big band (1956-57),
Gene Quill,
Mat Mathews,
Joe Puma, Johnny Richards,
Peter Appleyard,
Benny Goodman (1963-64) and
Andre Previn. Whitey, who largely dropped out of full-time playing after 1965 and became a television producer, led an album for ABC-Paramount in 1956 and co-led a set for Metrojazz (as "the Mitchells") with
Red and
Blue Mitchell in 1958. ~ Scott Yanow