Search - Blue Mitchell :: Live

Mediocre blue......not essential...

Rolltide | Columbia, Tn | 01/24/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I am as big a blue mitchell fan as you will find and listen to his riverside recordings all the time and consider several of them jazz classics. This 1970s live recording falls short of those classics. This is from a concert at the douglas beach house in southern california from 1976. Note that another blue mitchell live at the douglas beach house recording is out there as well. Are they similar or the same? The band is solid with a fine drummer named smiley winters and mike morris on tenor. The song selection is ok but does not include any of blues best from that riverside period or from his 5 years with horace silver which over laps it. The pace of the performance is simply too laid back and uninspired. The quality of the recording is only decent and at times the piano or even blue's trumpet becomes too soft.The best cuts are "sweet smiley winters" a version of clifford brown and max roach's "sweet clifford" that heads up the brown and roach inc. album. "Blue's theme' is nice in the end. Good musicians just not passionate performances.Not worth the extra effort to obtain...........socks"