[MRL 402] Blue Mitchell - Many Shades Of Blue

MRL 402
1974


Personnel:

Blue Mitchell - Trumpet
Wilbur Bascomb, Jr. - Bass (Electric)
Joe Beck - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric)
James Bossy - Trumpet
Sam T. Brown - Guitar (Acoustic)
Jon Faddis - Horn
Joe Farrell - Flute, Sax (Tenor)
James Madison - Drums
Irwin "Marky" Markowitz - Horn
Michael Moore - Bass (Electric)
Seldon Powell - Sax (Baritone), Sax (Tenor)
John Tropea - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric)
Frank Vicari - Sax (Tenor)



Tracks:

A1 Where It's At (3:30)
A2 Harmony Of The Underground (5:50)
A3 Funky Walk (4:36)
A4 Blue Funk (4:37)

B1 Golden Feathered Bird (4:04)
B2 Beans & Taters (4:25)
B3 Funny Bone (3:37)
B4 Hot Stuff (3:55)

Arranged & Conducted by - Dave Matthews
Producer - Bob Shad


Dusty Groove Review

Sweet electric 70s funk from Blue Mitchell -- blowing here in some of the hippest arrangements of his career! Blue's trumpet alone is always pretty darn great, but for this album he's working with arranger Dave Matthews -- who gives the tunes fierce groove that mixes vamping guitars with snapping drums -- sort of picking up the groove that Matthews forged with James Brown, but allowing for a lot freer jazz interplay! The guitars are often recorded in a cool way that has them sounding a bit "watery" alongside the rhythms -- so much so, you'd swear they were keyboards at times -- and this approach sounds really great underneath Blue's tighter, harder, more punctuated solos over the top of the tracks. Additional support comes from horn players Joe Farrell and Seldon Powell -- and titles include "Funk Walk", "Blue Funk", "Funny Bone", "Golden Feathered Bird", "Harmony Of The Underworld", and "Hot Stuff".