- Louis Mitchell
Louis A. Mitchell (December 17, 1885 - September 2, 1957) was an American
jazz drummer and bandleader.Mitchell began performing in
vaudeville revues andminstrel show s from around the turn of the century, playing drums andbandoline . After moving toNew York City in 1912, he founded his own group, the Southern Symphonists' Quartet. Mitchell sang and drummed forJames Reese Europe in 1918, and the following year founded a new group, which he called Louis Mitchell's Jazz Kings. Toward the end of the decade, Mitchell began touringEurope as well as the United States, concentrating on theUnited Kingdom andFrance . He did solo percussion shows in addition to ensemble programs, and his drum solos were greeted harshly by French audiences. Nevertheless, his ensemble spent five years as thehouse band of theCasino de Paris .He recorded for
Pathe Records in 1922 and 1923;Sidney Bechet played with him at this time, though Bechet did not appear on the recordings. Mitchell remained in France into the 1940s, branching intocasino ,restaurant andnightclub management in addition to music. He moved back to the United States afterWorld War II , but played little in his last decade.References
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Eugene Chadbourne , [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:ajfpxqraldhe~T1 Louis A. Mitchell] atAllmusic
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
