Blue Mitchell – S.T.

Hard bop meets soul-jazz, calypso, and bossa on Blue Mitchell’s underrated self-titled album (alternatively titled “Soul Village”) on Mainstream Records. While not quite a household name, Richard Allen “Blue” Mitchell surely sits up there in the ranks of trumpet greats having worked across genres including hard bop, soul jazz, blues, and funk with big names like Ray Charles, Horace Silver, Lou Donaldson, King Curtis and Albert King. The band is firing on all cylinders here with Larry Gales’ woody acoustic bass pushing the grooves forward,  Mitchell and Forest perfectly in sync on brass, while Walter Bishop, Jr. adds a bit of electric piano to freshen up the bop sound.

Recommended – Full Listen